Obama to campaign for Harris in Pennsylvania, other key states
Former President Obama is preparing to hit the campaign trail next week for Vice President Harris, focusing on key battleground states in the lead up to Election Day, according to a senior campaign official with anonymity to discuss the matter.
Obama, who served back-to-back terms as president from 2009 through 2017, will kick off his drive in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania on Thursday, a state which remains one of the tightest contests in the nation and which could tip the scales for either candidate.
A Fox News survey of Pennsylvania voters last week found Harris narrowly ahead of Trump by 2 points (50-48%) among registered voters, while the race is tied at 49% each among likely voters. President Biden won the state by more than 80,000 votes in 2020.
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President Obama’s Senior Advisor Eric Schultz tells Fox News that the 44th president is determined to help Harris and other Democrats get elected.
“President Obama believes the stakes of this election could not be more consequential and that is why he is doing everything he can to help elect Vice President Harris, Governor Walz and Democrats across the country,” Schultz said.
“His goals are to win the White House, keep the U.S. Senate, and take back the House of Representatives. Now that voting has begun, our focus is on persuading and mobilizing voters, especially in states with key races. Many of these races are likely to go down to the wire and nothing should be taken for granted.”
Former President Obama remains extremely popular among Democrats according to opinion polls and his favorable rating is also in positive territory among independent voters. But most Republicans hold an unfavorable view of the former two-term president.
Democrats hope his presence on the campaign will energize and excite Democrats to get out and vote while also encouraging independents to vote for Harris as well.
Former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama officially endorsed Harris for president in July, five days after President Biden ended his 2024 re-election in a blockbuster announcement.
Former President Obama then stumped for Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, saying she “is ready for the job.”
“It’s up to all of us to fight for the America we believe in,” Obama said. “And make no mistake: It will be a fight.”
“This is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion. Kamala wasn’t born into privilege. She had to work for what she’s got, and she actually cares about what other people are going through.”
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Harris and Obama’s friendship goes back 20 years to when they met on the campaign trail while he was running for Senate in Illinois, the senior campaign official says. Harris was an early supporter of his 2008 presidential campaign and even knocked doors for him in Iowa ahead of the caucus, per the official.
Last month, former President Obama headlined a fundraiser for Harris that raised $4 million, according to Schultz. His fundraising efforts so far on her behalf have raised $76 million.
In the coming weeks, former President Obama will sign additional fundraising emails, record candidate-specific ads and robocalls for down-ballot races and travel the country for a coordinated “get out the vote” effort, Schultz says.
Harris’ campaign is headed by Jen O’Malley Dillon Harris, a veteran of Obama’s two campaigns who also managed President Biden’s 2020 campaign and built his 2024 operation from the White House.
Other former Obama advisers on the Harris team, include David Plouffe, who was manager of Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008 and a senior aide during his 2012 re-election victory.
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Harris campaigned in battleground Wisconsin on Thursday where she campaigned with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.
Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday for a campaign event. It will mark his first return to Butler since the attempted assassination on July 13.
During a rally Wednesday in Mint Hill, North Carolina, Trump said that he wanted to return to the venue to “finish our speech.”
Reuters contributed to this report.