Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Obama announces democrat endorsements for 2018 midterm elections

'I'm confident that, together, they’ll strengthen this country we love'

Kimberley Richards
New York
Thursday 02 August 2018 10:28 BST
Comments
Former President Barack Obama
Former President Barack Obama (REUTERS)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Barack Obama has announced his endorsements for America's 2018 midterm elections in a series of tweets.

The former president endorsed 81 candidates vying for congressional seats, those running for the Senate, as well as candidates in various state level elections across the US.

Mr Obama wrote that he was "proud to endorse such a wide and impressive array of Democratic candidates – leaders as diverse, patriotic, and big-hearted as the America they’re running to represent.”

Republicans currently have control of both the House and the Senate. All 435 seats in the House up for grabs, while 35 are set to be contested in the Senate.

Democrats need to win more than 23 seats to gain majority in Congress.

Among those endorsed by Mr Obama, are Harley Rouda and Katie Hill from California, Sean Casten and Brendan Kelly for Congress in Illinois and Stacey Abrams for governor of Georgia.

“’I'm confident that, together, they’ll strengthen this country we love by restoring opportunity, repairing our alliances and standing in the world, and upholding our fundamental commitment to justice, fairness, responsibility, and the rule of law,” Mr Obama wrote. “But first, they need our votes.”

Mr Obama recently made waves online when he shared the importance of empowering women to positions of leadership across Africa. While speaking at a town hall in Johannesburg, South Africa, the former president said men were getting on his “nerves recently.”

“I think empowering more women on the continent, that... is going to lead to some better policies,” he added.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in