Barack Obama looks to ride to the rescue for the Democrats

The former president is trying to ensure Democrats win tight races in a number of states as the party seeks to keep hold of Congress in the midterm elections, writes Chris Stevenson

Barack Obama says ‘despair is not an option’ for voters (AP)

Barack Obama knows about the difficulties of midterm elections. In 2010, during his first term in office, Republicans gained 63 seats to take control of the House of Representatives in a result that Obama called a “shellacking”. During his second term, the Republicans gained control of the Senate and retained control of the House – giving the GOP the power in Congress.

With Joe Biden’s own approval ratings in the forties and the Democrats facing close races in a number of states as they look to retain control of Congress themselves, this won’t be what the current president will want to hear. However, Obama left office in January 2017 with a 59 per cent approval rating, according to Gallup, which also measured his post-presidential approval at 63 per cent in 2018, when the organisation polled about former presidents.

No wonder he has been called upon to help Biden rally supporters ahead of the midterm vote on 8 November. Having visited Atlanta on Friday, Obama travelled to Michigan and Wisconsin on Saturday. This will be followed by stops next week in Nevada and Pennsylvania. His appeal is obvious, particularly when it comes to young people and Black voters. “Obama occupies a rare place in our politics today,” David Axelrod, former special adviser to Obama, who helped shape the president’s campaigns, said. “He obviously has great appeal to Democrats. But he’s also well liked by independent voters.”

Obama was clear on his message during a rally on Friday, accusing Republicans of ignoring the rules when it comes to elections. “[The] basic foundation of our democracy is being called into question right now,” Obama told a crowd outside Atlanta. “Democrats aren’t perfect. I’m the first one to admit it. But right now, with a few notable exceptions, most of the GOP and a whole bunch of these candidates are not even pretending that the rules apply to them.”

He went on: “I am here to tell you, tuning out is not an option. Despair is not an option. The fundamental question you should be asking yourself right now is: who will fight for you?”

It will be up to voters if they agree with Obama’s assessment that the Democrats are the only answer to that – his friend Joe Biden, and the rest of his party, will be hoping they do.