Barack Obama is set to campaign Saturday alongside Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in Ohio and Michigan, two closely watched states that could decide which party controls the chamber. The former president is increasing his presence on the midterm campaign trail as Democrats fight to regain ground.
Obama will begin the day in Cleveland at an event for Sherrod Brown, the former three-term Ohio senator seeking to defeat Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee challenging Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, is also expected to join the rally.
Ohio has shifted steadily toward the Republican Party in recent years, but this election has turned the state into a closely fought battleground.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have each traveled to Ohio in recent weeks, campaigning to strengthen support for Husted and Ramaswamy.
From Ohio, Obama will travel to Detroit for a rally supporting Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official trying to consolidate Democratic backing in Michigan. El-Sayed emerged from a contentious primary by fewer than one percentage point and now faces Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers.
Obama’s visit could help El-Sayed make inroads with Black voters in Detroit, where roughly three-quarters of the population is Black. During the primary, however, Haley Stevens carried Wayne County, which includes Detroit, by approximately six points. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first Black and South Asian vice president, campaigned for El-Sayed in September.
El-Sayed previously criticized Obama after the former president won reelection in 2012, arguing that Obama had failed to deliver on some of his progressive promises. At the time, El-Sayed wrote that Obama “was not the right choice — he just wasn’t the wrong one.”
Speaking with reporters earlier this month, El-Sayed said he valued Obama’s influence and described him as “foundational” to his own decision to seek office, while acknowledging that he remains critical of parts of the Obama administration’s record.
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“It’s a normal thing to love somebody, to really appreciate all that they’ve done, and to say, ‘Hey, here are some things I would have done differently,’” El-Sayed said. “But they still did some important things to create opportunity for you.”
El-Sayed said he spoke by phone with Obama soon after his primary victory in August.
Michigan voters are also preparing to decide open contests for governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, is scheduled to attend the rally along with other candidates running in down-ballot races. Benson is challenging Republican Rep. John James.
Obama is scheduled to headline a Georgia rally next week with Sen. Jon Ossoff and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. Trump, meanwhile, is expected to speak in Georgia on Saturday.
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