{"id":349331,"date":"2025-11-02T02:15:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T02:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/349331\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T02:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T02:15:14","slug":"obama-campaigns-in-new-jersey-virginia-before-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/349331\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama campaigns in New Jersey, Virginia before Election Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) \u2014 Former President Barack Obama<\/a> is encouraging voters to elect Democratic governors in Virginia and New Jersey<\/a> in races this Tuesday to rebuke Donald Trump 10 months into his second presidency and a year ahead of midterm elections that could reshape it.<\/p>\n

Obama\u2019s appearances Saturday for Abigail Spanberger<\/a> and Mikie Sherrill<\/a> contrast with Trump spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, leaving Republicans Winsome Earle-Sears<\/a> in Virginia and Jack Ciattarelli<\/a> in New Jersey to campaign for themselves. <\/p>\n

At the same time, California advocates made a final push ahead of a statewide referendum over whether to redraw the state\u2019s congressional map in Democrats\u2019 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 maintain a friendly House majority in 2026.<\/p>\n

Obama praised Spanberger and Sherrill, center-left Democrats who helped their party win a U.S. House majority halfway through Trump\u2019s first presidency, as experienced figures who would improve voters\u2019 financial circumstances. Yet Obama, who remains Democrats\u2019 most popular figure nearly nine years removed from the White House, spent much of his time during separate rallies lambasting Trump for \u201clawlessness and recklessness\u201d and \u201cshambolic\u201d economic policy. Obama urged voters to \u201cset a glorious example for the nation\u201d by rejecting nominees loyal to a president with \u201cautocratic impulses.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Republican<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe stakes are now clear,\u201d Obama said in Virginia. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to speculate about the dangers to our democracy. We don\u2019t need to ask ourselves how much more coarse and mean our culture can become. Elections matter, and they matter to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama took care not to blame voters who backed Trump in 2024 because of inflation and a roiled economy. But, he asked in New Jersey, \u201cHas any of that gotten better for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

In some ways, it was standard partisan fare in the closing stretch of a campaign. Yet it stood out as an unusually intense rebuke of a sitting president by a predecessor and because Republicans offered little defense of Trump in their own campaign stops Saturday, instead trying to localize the off-year elections as much as possible. <\/p>\n

On a bus tour across New Jersey, Ciattarelli referenced the president mostly to chide Sherrill for mentioning him so much, along with her experience as a Navy helicopter pilot. <\/p>\n

\u201cHer disdain for the president. And she can fly a helicopter. Is any of that going to fix New Jersey?\u201d Ciattarelli said in suburban Westfield.<\/p>\n

Earle-Sears did not mention Trump at all as she campaigned with term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin. \u201cWe are not going back,\u201d she said, arguing for conservative continuity in Purcellville. \u201cThere\u2019s only darkness back there. Abigail Spanberger represents the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump isn\u2019t on site, but he\u2019s been in the conversation<\/p>\n

Trump endorsed Ciattarelli and has said \u2014 without naming Earle-Sears \u2014 that he backs her Virginia bid. He conducted a phone rally for Ciattarelli but has not campaigned in person for either nominee.<\/p>\n

On Friday evening in south Florida, Trump attended a shindig at his resort with the theme \u201cA Little Party Never Killed Nobody.\u201d On Saturday, he headed to Trump International Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, Florida, and is scheduled to attend a dinner for MAGA, Inc., a super PAC founded by allies. The president is due to return to Washington on Sunday. <\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s arms-length approach reflects a complicated reality for Republicans: He remains intensely popular among the most conservative voters but has a more precarious standing with the rest of the electorate. <\/p>\n

Some of their supporters greeted Ciattarelli and Earle-Sears wearing red \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d hats from Trump\u2019s campaigns. But the nominees stayed focused on state policies. <\/p>\n

In suburban Westfield, Ciattarelli took selfies for about an hour and talked about proposals to lower energy costs and property taxes, among other ideas. His campaign also has concentrated on his family\u2019s deep roots in the state and argued it\u2019s time for a \u201cJersey guy\u201d as governor. Sherrill was born in Virginia.<\/p>\n

In multiple small-town stops, Earle-Sears promised to lower taxes, defend parents\u2019 ability to shape education policy and stave off unions and business regulations. \u201cI\u2019m for common sense,\u201d she said in northern Virginia.<\/p>\n

She has previously embraced Trump, while Ciattarelli has played up his good relationship with the White House. <\/p>\n

Two Democrats take slightly different approaches to Trump<\/p>\n

As she has been throughout the fall, Sherrill did not shy away from Trump and the national stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen everything seems to come down to our election, when people across the nation, look at me with fear and despair in their eyes and ask me, is New Jersey up for this moment? My answer was, \u2018Hell yeah,\u2019\u201d she said in Newark. <\/p>\n

Spanberger kept to her more circumspect style regarding Trump, pairing economic arguments against his policies with more opaque references to the president\u2019s moves that upend democratic norms.<\/p>\n

\u201cVirginia voters can and will send a message amid the recklessness and the heartlessness coming out of Washington,\u201d she said ahead of Obama. She criticized \u201cthe political turmoil coming out of Washington right now\u201d and introduced Obama by recalling \u201ca time not that long ago … when we had a president … who worked to bring us together instead of tearing us apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, according to AdImpact data, Spanberger\u2019s biggest advertising expenses are for spots that try to tie Earle-Sears to Trump.<\/p>\n

The economy and shutdown overshadow the governor\u2019s races<\/p>\n

Spanberger and Sherrill have both pledged to tackle rising consumer costs. In New Jersey, however, Ciattarelli has blamed Democrats for higher energy costs because outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy has been leading the state for two terms.<\/p>\n

The Democrats have blasted Republicans\u2019 federal domestic policy and tax cut bill. Spanberger on Saturday criticized Trump\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency and the ongoing federal shutdown \u2014 both of which have a disproportionate impact in a state with more than 300,000 federal employees, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n

Earle-Sears has pinned the shutdown on Spanberger, arguing the former congresswoman should use her leverage with Virginia\u2019s Democratic U.S. senators. Both have voted against the GOP\u2019s spending extension bill as Democrats demand Republicans address looming health care cuts. <\/p>\n

Additionally, the contests could offer some clues as to whether social issues carry any less weight with voters than in previous elections. Spanberger and Sherrill herald their support for abortion rights, Spanberger doing so in the last Southern state not to impose new restrictions or bans in recent years. Earle-Sears did not mention her opposition to abortion rights Saturday but has said repeatedly that Spanberger in an extremist on transgender rights \u2014 attacks similar to those that Trump wielded effectively against Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024. <\/p>\n

___ Barrow reported from Atlanta. Catalini reported from Newark. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NORFOLK, Va. (AP) \u2014 Former President Barack Obama is encouraging voters to elect Democratic governors in Virginia and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":349332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[128152,11744,276,168,69,90,1854,57,12473,86,133986,27593,133987,401,50,20599,80,61,322,67,132,68,906,93],"class_list":{"0":"post-349331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"category-us","9":"tag-abigail-spanberger","10":"tag-barack-obama","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-domestic-news","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-elections","15":"tag-gavin-newsom","16":"tag-general-news","17":"tag-glenn-youngkin","18":"tag-government-policy","19":"tag-jack-ciattarelli","20":"tag-kamala-harris","21":"tag-mikie-sherrill","22":"tag-new-jersey","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-phil-murphy","25":"tag-politics","26":"tag-u-s-news","27":"tag-u-s-republican-party","28":"tag-united-states","29":"tag-unitedstates","30":"tag-us","31":"tag-virginia","32":"tag-washington-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115477697728903903","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}