RICHMOND, Va. — Former President Barack Obama will headline rallies Saturday for Democrats running for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, corralling voters ahead of elections that may signal the national mood 10 months into Donald Trump’s second presidency and a year ahead of midterm elections that could reshape it.
Republicans in those states are stumping as well on the final weekend of campaigning before Tuesday’s elections, but without the national star power.
And on the west coast, California advocates are making a final push ahead of a statewide referendum over whether to redraw the state’s congressional map in Democrats’ favor. The effort backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom is part of a national redistricting battle that began when Trump urged GOP-run states to help him keep a friendly House majority in 2026.
Obama, the Democrat whom Trump succeeded when he first assumed the presidency, will appear first Saturday with Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger in Norfolk. Obama then travels to New Jersey for an evening rally with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill in Newark. Both events put the nation’s first Black president in areas where Black voter turnout is key for Democratic victories.
Virginia Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, the current lieutenant governor, and New Jersey Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker, have busy itineraries, as well.
The Virginia contest ensures the election of the first woman to lead the Commonwealth since its 1776 founding. If elected, Earle-Sears would be the first Black woman elected governor of any state.
Democrats need strong Black turnout
Democratic Virginia House Speaker Don Scott brushed off questions about whether Obama was needed to help turn out Black voters who are key to Democrats’ coalition of voters, saying his popularity spans racial lines.
“Black folks and white folks are inspired by his leadership. They’re inspired by the way that he governed himself,” said Scott, Virginia’s first Black state House speaker.
Obama’s campaign swing affirms how popular the 64-year-old remains among his party’s base more than eight years removed from the White House. Yet it underscores Democrats’ lack of current top leaders and surrogates, with Republicans holding all levers of federal power and a cadre of Democratic governors and lawmakers vying for status as national figures.
And, Scott’s protests aside, the visit highlights pressure on Democrats to maximize their diverse coalition after Trump chipped away in 2024 at Democrats’ usual advantages among Black and Hispanic voters. Trump lost Virginia and New Jersey but narrowed the margins in both states from his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Republicans believe New Jersey, especially, is ripe to continue that trend for Ciattarelli.
