Former President Obama Speaks at Rally for Abigail Spanberger

Barack Obama reprised his role as the Democrats’ closer-in-chief on Saturday, filling a void for his still leaderless party in the waning days of the closely watched gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey. The former president’s stops — his first in Norfolk, home to the nation’s largest Naval installation and two historically Black colleges, and later in Newark, the Garden State’s most populous city where nearly half of residents are Black — are nods that Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominees in Virginia and New Jersey respectively, see these voters as key to securing victory in the Nov. 4 election. But Obama’s reemergence is also a reminder of the rudderlessness of the Democratic Party, which is still reeling from stinging losses in 2024 that left them completely locked out of power in the federal government. Democrats are counting on decisive victories from Spanberger and Sherrill, both of whom are favored to win on Tuesday, to help springboard them into the critical midterm elections next year. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtsXo-byBtzhxPIdokIXHpw/join