Obama To Campaign Alongside El-Sayed, Benson in Closing Days of Midterm Election

President Obama will campaign alongside the top of Michigan Democrats’ midterm ticket in the closing days of the election, the state party announced Monday. Mr. Obama is expected to stump for several candidates across the country, as he did in 2022 and 2024. Since leaving office nearly ten years ago, Mr. Obama has remained the most popular ex-president living today, and one especially adored by his party’s base. His rally with the nominees for Michigan’s gubernatorial and Senate races — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, respectively — is sure to help turn out engaged Democratic base voters and angry independents who saw their state narrowly go to President Trump in the 2024 election. The rally headlined by Mr. Obama will take place at Detroit on October 24, ten days before the day of the midterm elections. Ms. Benson and Dr. El-Sayed will be joined by downballot Democrats, as well. There’s only one team ready to work for the people. See you soon, President @BarackObama!” Ms. Benson wrote on X. Dr El-Sayed wrote in his own post that it was an “honor and privilege” to welcome Mr. Obama to his state. Ms. Benson has held a consistent, near-double-digit lead over her GOP opponent, Congressman John James, throughout the general election. She has raised more than twice the amount of money that Mr. James has raised so far, according to the most recent filings. Ms. Benson also avoided any real primary challenge after other top Michigan Democrats either avoided the gubernatorial race or later dropped out of the campaign, as lieutenant governor Garlin Gilchrist chose to do. Ms. Benson won the Democratic nomination with more than 83 percent of the vote. Dr. El-Sayed, however, has had a more difficult path after a bruising Senate primary against Congresswoman Haley Stevens. Dr. El-Sayed won the primary by less than one point after tens of millions of dollars were spent on Ms. Stevens’ behalf by several outside groups. The day after losing the primary, Ms. Stevens quickly endorsed Dr. El-Sayed despite deep disagreements on things like American military support for Israel and Medicare for All. The primary also divided the party on lines of race, age, and faith, with older Black voters and Jewish voters breaking decisively for Ms. Stevens, while Dr. El-Sayed did particularly well in college towns like Ann Arbor and Lansing. After the primary, Dr. El-Sayed has not kept pace with Ms. Benson’s commanding polling margin, leading the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, by around three to five points, according to polling aggregates. Senator Elissa Slotkin, who narrowly defeated Mr. Rogers in the 2024 Senate race, stayed out of the Senate primary between Ms. Stevens and Dr. El-Sayed. She has made the case now that she — a Jewish, moderate former CIA officer and assistant secretary of defense — and Dr. El-Sayed — a Muslim, first-generation American and progressive former public health official — would be the perfect kind of pair to fight for Michigan as a partnership despite their disagreements. “We were driving in the car on the way here debating things,” Ms. Slotkin said at her first joint appearance with Dr. El-Sayed over the weekend. “They’re gonna be sporty debates sometimes, but we agree on the things that are really important, which is putting a check and balance on this man in the White House.”

Obama To Campaign Alongside El-Sayed, Benson in Closing Days of Midterm Election

Obama To Campaign Alongside El-Sayed, Benson in Closing Days of Midterm Election

More from the New York Sun

Is a Conservative Spain in the Offing?

Senator John Kennedy v. the GOP’s ‘Goobers’

With Diesel Prices at Record Highs, Ukraine Snubs Trump Request To Halt Attacks on Russia’s Oil Infrastructure

Cornell Fraternity Brother Claims He’s the Real Victim of Jane Doe

America Tells Russia To Come Clean Over Suspected Plague Outbreak

Facing a ‘Regulatory Void’ on AI, New York City Lawmakers Force Tech Execs To Discuss Limits

Supreme Court Justices Hear ‘Complicated’ Climate Change Lawsuit

From LeBron’s Chopper, Giannis’s Move to South Beach, and the Knicks Defending Title: Inside the NBA’s Most Intriguing Season in Years

More from the New York Sun

Is a Conservative Spain in the Offing?

Senator John Kennedy v. the GOP’s ‘Goobers’

With Diesel Prices at Record Highs, Ukraine Snubs Trump Request To Halt Attacks on Russia’s Oil Infrastructure

Cornell Fraternity Brother Claims He’s the Real Victim of Jane Doe

America Tells Russia To Come Clean Over Suspected Plague Outbreak

Facing a ‘Regulatory Void’ on AI, New York City Lawmakers Force Tech Execs To Discuss Limits

Supreme Court Justices Hear ‘Complicated’ Climate Change Lawsuit

From LeBron’s Chopper, Giannis’s Move to South Beach, and the Knicks Defending Title: Inside the NBA’s Most Intriguing Season in Years