Former President Barack Obama will campaign with Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) on Saturday, November 1, giving New Jersey Democrats some heavy national star power in the final stretch of the gubernatorial campaign.
Obama – whose endorsement of Sherrill is also being broadcast via digital and radio ads – is set to headline a rally in Newark, New Jersey’s biggest city and a key part of Sherrill’s path to victory against Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
“President Obama reminds us what we can accomplish when we leaders are unafraid to take on big challenges to deliver,” Sherrill said in a statement. “He led historic efforts to insure millions of Americans and lower healthcare costs.”
“The contrast couldn’t be clearer,” she continued. “Jack Ciattarelli is supporting Trump’s attacks on New Jersey, from terminating the Gateway Tunnel Project to kicking hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans off their healthcare. I am so grateful to have President Obama’s support and endorsement in this race as we harness our momentum to mobilize New Jerseyans to vote on or before November 4.”
Sherrill has focused on tying Ciattarelli to Trump and other national Republican figures whenever possible, and has brought in a number of surrogates in recent weeks to boost that message. Last weekend, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stopped in New Jersey for campaign visits, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be coming soon; all four are considered potential 2028 presidential candidates.
Obama – who has a nationwide favorability rating of 59%, per a Gallup poll from earlier this year – is also hitting the campaign trail to stump for Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia), the Democratic nominee for governor in Virginia and Sherrill’s close friend.
The former president has been a recurring presence on the campaign trail in past New Jersey gubernatorial races. He campaigned with Gov. Phil Murphy ahead of Democratic victories in both 2017 and 2021, and unsuccessfully attempted to pull Gov. Jon Corzine across the finish line in 2009 with a get-out-the-vote rally.
The one exception: 2013, when Obama declined to campaign with doomed Democratic nominee Barbara Buono against Gov. Chris Christie, with whom Obama had worked closely in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
