‘All of us are being tested right now,’ Obama tells Democrats in Newark
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By TRACEY TULLY and NICK CORASANITI
Former President Barack Obama urged a crowd of thousands gathered at a campaign rally in New Jersey on Saturday night to reject President Donald Trump’s vision for America and to instead support a “leader who understands the mission.”
“You’ve got a candidate for governor who is a proven fighter, someone who will work for you every single day,” Obama said of Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democrat running for governor against Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican endorsed by Trump.
“If you meet this moment,” he said, “You will not just put New Jersey on a better path. You will set a glorious example for this nation.”
The event, at a community college in Newark, showcased Democratic unity — and a few jitters — as the neck-and-neck race enters its final stretch.
“This race is at a dead heat,” Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., the Essex County executive, told the crowd. “Don’t let anybody kid you.”
Three of the five Democrats Sherrill beat in June to win the party nomination were present, including Mayor Ras J. Baraka of Newark, who offered a rousing address that, much like Obama’s, framed Tuesday’s election as a stark choice between freedom and tyranny.
“This is about defending New Jersey from Donald Trump,” he said.
Obama was the latest in a string of Democratic and Republican Party leaders to travel to New Jersey to lend their support, and star power, to the candidates. The visits have underscored the high stakes of the race, one of just two for governor this year.
The races are considered a referendum on the tumultuous first year of Trump’s second term. And the patterns in voter turnout may offer clues about what is in store for the midterm elections next year, which will decide which party controls Congress.
Three Democratic governors — Wes Moore of Maryland, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan — have swept into the state over the past several weeks, as did Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. On Thursday, Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary, boarded a bus to travel across New Jersey with Sherrill, making calls en route to thank campaign volunteers.
Ciattarelli has had fewer reinforcements from his party show up, though several big names have arrived to demonstrate support.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate who is now running for governor of Ohio, joined Ciattarelli on the campaign trail, as did Rep. Byron Donalds, who hopes to be Florida’s next governor. Puerto Rico’s governor, Jenniffer González-Colón, came to the state, as did far-right media figures, including Benny Johnson and Jack Posobiec.
Sean Hannity, a Fox News host, held a town hall-style broadcast Thursday with Ciattarelli at a yacht club in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
Trump has not campaigned in person in New Jersey but did hold a 12-minute telephone pep rally last Friday with Ciattarelli and his supporters.
The president’s physical absence could be by design. Trump is unpopular in New Jersey; a recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 56% of voters disapproved of the way he was handling his job as president. And his broadsides against Sherrill on social media may energize his supporters without risking backlash or a potential turnout boost for Democrats, who outnumber Republicans in the state by roughly 850,000 voters.
The goal of the marquee guest appearances on both sides is clear: Excite the party faithful and increase voter turnout.
“All of us are being tested right now,” Obama told the crowd. “Our convictions are being tested right now. Donald Trump and the Republicans want you to think that change can only come from on high.”
“Don’t boo,” he said repeatedly, as the crowd roared. “Vote.”
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