ROOKE: Democrats Deploying Go-To Weapon With Obama. It Didn’t Work Before

The Democratic Party appears stuck in 2012, as it rolls out former President Barack Obama to campaign for its candidates in close races.

Obama is clearly seen as their campaign closer, as he’s being used to stump for candidates and issues across the country leading up to the Nov. 4 election. Obama has been in Virginia campaigning for Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger’s gubernatorial contest and in New Jersey for Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill’s governor’s race. Democrats also put Obama in a 30-second ad to promote California’s new redistricting ballot measure (Prop. 50), and Obama personally endorsed and praised Democratic Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, calling him to offer support ahead of the election.

Obama: I worry about the growing concentration of economic power in this country where just a handful of mega-billionaires and companies controlling what we see and what we hear. I worry about how much that economic power distorts the political process. I worry about how readily… pic.twitter.com/HbeOFzEKUs

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 1, 2025

And while Obama still enjoys high praise and popularity from the Democratic base, his support doesn’t sway Republican or Independent voters, one Democratic strategist, who remained anonymous, told The Hill.

“The more we move away from the Obama presidency, the less muscle he has to push. It’s just the reality. We saw that with President Clinton, and we’re seeing it now with Obama,” the strategist said, adding that this became abundantly clear when Obama’s campaign work did little to move the needle for former Vice President Kamala Harris during her race against now-President Donald Trump. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)

“And that’s with all the buzz around his speech at the convention, and all the rallies in the final days,” the strategist told The Hill. “In the end, no one cares about the surrogates. They care about the candidates themselves.”

In case you’re wondering:

THIS is why they called in Barack Obama

THIS is why out-of-state Democrat donors are frantically dumping millions into Virginia

The national Democrat establishment took Virginia for granted. Now its a fight.

But voters don’t want washed-up ex… pic.twitter.com/95qtAnE6S5

— Virginia GOP (@VA_GOP) October 17, 2025

This hasn’t stopped Democrats from putting him front and center during tight races. They don’t seem to understand that what makes him popular among Democrats makes him equally as unpopular with everyone else. (ROOKE: Democrats Trying To Use Trump’s Signature Bill To Fund Their Attacks)

Democrats are likely looking at the bigger picture during this off-season election cycle, when voter turnout is typically low. Obama doesn’t need to appeal to Republican and Independent voters for the Democratic candidate to be successful. He just needs to energize the base enough for them to show up on Election Day.

They clearly feel confident in his ability to do that.

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