Barack Obama to campaign for Kamala Harris in swing states as Election Day nears
Former President Barack Obama is hitting the stump for Vice President Kamala Harris in swing states starting next week, according to a senior campaign official.
The first stop in Obama’s blitz through battleground country will be Pittsburgh, Pa., on Oct. 10.
The Keystone State has 19 crucial Electoral College votes up for grabs in November, and the latest polls show Harris is in a dead heat with former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.
The ex-commander in chief will be making a series of stops in support of Harris in other swing states throughout the final 27 days of the 2024 presidential race, according to the official.
It is unclear exactly how many of Harris’ events will feature Obama in the campaign’s spring to Election Day, and whether the vice president will join the 44th president at all of the battleground state rallies.
Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania are the seven battleground states this cycle.
Harris, 59, and Trump, 78, are currently separated by margins of less than 2 percentage points in each of those states, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls.
Obama, 63, reportedly played a leading role in the behind-the-scenes pressure campaign to get President Biden to end his re-election bid.
The former president, however, waited a full four days after Biden’s July 21 exit from the presidential race to publicly endorse Harris – whom Biden endorsed immediately after dropping out.
Obama’s assistance on the campaign trail comes after he delivered a keynote speech in support of Harris on the second night of the Democratic National Convention – the same day the vice president ceremonially declared the party’s nominee for president.
“This convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible,” Obama said in his remarks, arguing that as president, Harris “won’t be focused on her problems … she’ll be focused on yours.”
The vice president was nearly 100 miles away from the Chicago convention site during Obama’s speech, opting to hold a campaign rally in Milwaukee rather than attend the proceedings.
The former president’s estranged half-brother, Abon’go Malik Obama, told The Post earlier this week that he believes Barack is “still running the country” — and would have “a big role to play” if Harris wins in November.
Malik announced last month that he’d be voting for Trump in the election, and has supported the 45th president since 2016.
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