Former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris, in separate rallies on Saturday, called for Democrats to turn out to vote in Virginia’s and New Jersey’s races for governor and for the proposition that would redraw California’s congressional map.
Their efforts came as President Donald Trump’s political operation also invests millions in voter turnout for New Jersey and Virginia’s gubernatorial races, in an effort to boost the Republican candidates on those tickets.
Speaking at a rally for Democratic candidate and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday afternoon, Obama told a crowd of thousands, “Our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now… Every day this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and recklessness and mean-spiritedness and just plain craziness.”
Obama hit Trump on his handling of the economy, and the effect that the administration’s layoff efforts had on Virginia, a state home to hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
“The economy has been really good for some of Trump’s billionaire pals and for finance bros and well-connected corporations who’ve seen their tax bills go down and don’t have to worry about all these pesky regulators anymore. … Hundreds of thousands of federal employees, including a lot of people here in Virginia, have lost their jobs to pay for those billionaire tax cuts,” Obama said.
In her remarks, Spanberger sought to link her opponent — current Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears — to Trump.
“We do not need someone who has been in lockstep with this administration every step of the way,” Spanberger said. Earle-Sears has not campaigned with Trump and has received only a verbal endorsement from the president.
Obama later joined New Jersey Democratic candidate for governor U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill for a campaign rally in Newark on Saturday evening. He delivered similar remarks about Trump, Republicans and the state of the economy under the Trump administration.
Obama’s remarks diverged when praising Sherrill for her qualifications, telling the crowd that Sherrill is “the kind of leader who understands the mission, who knows who she is supposed to serve, who doesn’t have a lot of time for excuses. And that is exactly what New Jersey needs right now.”
Obama also took the time to link Sherrill’s opponent in the race, Republican candidate and former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, to Trump. Ciattarelli has spoken in support of Trump but has also said he’d be willing to bring up differences with the president if needed.
“Donald Trump called Mikie’s opponent ‘100% MAGA.’ Not a great endorsement. When he was asked to give the Trump administration a grade, Mikie’s opponent said they deserved an A,” Obama said.
But Republicans are also making major moves in the gubernatorial races.
President Donald Trump’s political operation is investing millions in voter turnout for New Jersey and Virginia’s gubernatorial races mere days before the election, as Democratic candidates lead in both contests, a source familiar confirmed to ABC News.
The source familiar with Trump’s political operation told ABC that “Trump aligned entities” are spending seven figures to turn out the vote in each state, which they see as opportunities to test certain campaign tactics ahead of next year’s midterms.
Axios was the first to report the investments.
Fox News reported that Trump held a tele-rally on Thursday alongside outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin to boost Virginia’s Republican candidates; he previously did the same to boost the Garden State’s GOP gubernatorial candidate Ciattarelli.
“You have a very important election for governor coming up in your state, and you need to go vote for Jack,” Trump said during the New Jersey tele-rally, calling Ciattarelli a “special guy” that will produce “unbelievable results.”
Those involved with Trump’s political operation understand they are working against tough odds, and even though polls are tightening in New Jersey, for instance, that Democrats hold a sizable voter registration lead — by nearly 900,000.
“President Trump has held tele-rallies because no one energizes voters like President Trump. He is a turnout machine, as was demonstrated by the historic results of the 2024 election — but he is not on the ballot,” said the source familiar.
Across the country, former Vice President Kamala Harris joined other elected officials at a rally on Saturday in support of the ballot proposition in California that could redraw the state’s congressional map — in one of her first major political appearances since leaving office.
Californians are voting on the proposition to determine if the state will adopt a new congressional map that redraws five Republican-held districts to potentially allow Democrats to flip them in the midterms. Opponents of the proposition have said the measure will take control over who represents residents out of the hands of voters.
Harris told the crowd that the proposition “is about reminding folks that we refuse to kneel at the foot of a tyrant.”
“That’s not what we do. We stand for the principles upon which our nation was founded. We believe in the Constitution of the United States. We believe in the power of the vote, and we are prepared, when necessary, to fight fire with fire.”
Harris added later that “other states need to step up, too. … This fight is not about sitting by and complaining, ‘Oh, they’re cheating.’ That’s not what this is about. It’s not that kind of party.”
ABC News’ Emily Chang and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
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