Forty-forth president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, will campaign for the Democratic Party candidates in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin later this month ahead of the 8 November mid-term elections that will determine control of the U.S. Congress.
Obama will rally for candidates for federal and state offices, appearing in Atlanta, Georgia on 28 October before traveling to the state of Detroit and city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 29 October his office confirmed on Saturday.
Republicans are seen winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives and possibly the US Senate as well. Several Republicans who want to overturn the way votes are cast and counted are also running for top election administrator offices in their respective states.
Obama will tell voters that Democrats are the party for protecting abortion rights, but a main theme in his appearances will also be that Democrats can be better trusted to keep elections fair, with the next presidential contest set for 2024.
“He looks forward to stumping (rallying) for candidates up and down the ballot, especially in races and states that will have consequences for the administration of 2024 elections,” Obama’s office said in a statement.
Former President Donald Trump, a Republican, is also holding campaign events to support his party, with the rallies featuring speeches in which he has repeatedly hinted that he might run again for president in 2024.
Trump has falsely claimed that he lost the 2020 presidential contest to Democrat Joe Biden because of fraud.
Republicans who back Trump’s false claim have become the party’s nominees for top election officials in states that could play decisive roles in the 2024 contest.
Republicans Jim Marchant of Nevada and Mark Finchem of Arizona, for example, want to curtail or abolish early voting, mail-in voting and ballot drop-boxes, claiming that they breed fraud.
Voting groups are concerned that the election of some far-right candidates could threaten the integrity of the next presidential election. There are claims that some might help Trump -if he decides to run again – or another like-minded Republican to overturn election results in 2024.
In an interview on the Pod Save America podcast released on Saturday, Obama said Democrats might not be able to trust that US courts will keep elections fair. That means Democrats must hold offices in closely-contested states to ensure the results of elections will be respected, he commented.
“Because it may turn out that in a close presidential election, at some point, certification of an election in a key swing-state may be at issue. And, it’s going to be really important that we have people there who play it straight,” said Obama.
If we want our democracy to function, we have to show up this election for the Governors, Secretaries of State and the candidates down the ballot who are going to protect voting rights and our electoral process. Because these seats wield a lot of power, and that power matters. pic.twitter.com/D6ehzPunRi
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 15, 2022
