Former President Barack Obama is heading to Ohio to campaign for Democratic candidates in the Senate and governor’s races, with an event scheduled in Cleveland on Oct. 24. The races in Columbus and statewide have been described as highly competitive and have drawn a flood of campaign cash.
In Cleveland Obama plans to appear with three-term former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is seeking to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted in the seat formerly held by Vice President JD Vance. He is also set to appear with Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor, who has focused on parts of the state that have voted Republican in recent elections as she faces tech billionaire and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
Ohio, a former swing state, has become a battleground for Senate control, with Vance and President Donald Trump visiting recently. Trump stumped for Husted on Monday with an emphasis on immigration, one of his signature issues. The Ohio trip is part of Obama’s broadened outreach in midterm contests viewed as consequential and potentially close. On the same day he is scheduled to campaign in Detroit with Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after a bruising Democratic primary, an event also set to include Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the party’s nominee for governor.
Brown was ousted two years ago by Republican Bernie Moreno in a bitter reelection battle and remains one of Ohio’s most successful politicians, prompting Democrats to recruit him for another run. In a new video Obama says Brown “worked with me to protect Ohio jobs” and adds that the race could determine which party controls the Senate, urging support because Brown “He’ll always fight for Ohio.”