This is déjà vu: Obama is heading to Michigan to campaign with Abdul El-Sayed as we enter the frenetic final weeks of the 2026 midterms. In 2016, Obama went to Michigan in the final weeks to help Hillary Clinton, which wasn’t the headline Democrats expected. Why did Obama have to go out there? For Democrats, a popular Democrat was doing his job. For the rest of us, there was genuine wonder about why Obama was heading to a reliably blue state for a final ‘vote Clinton’ push. Was she underwater with working-class voters? It turns out she was — Trump won the state.
Now Obama is heading to Michigan in a race some pollsters are already putting in the ‘W’ column for Democrats, but Scott Jennings threw cold water on the announcement. First, Obama needs to be seen, so there’s no shock there, but again, why is he going here if the race is supposedly locked up or on the verge of being sewn up by El-Sayed? Is it because he’s sucking with Black voters? Maybe.
When asked whether Republicans should “fear” or “welcome” Barack Obama campaigning in the midterms, Scott Jennings absolutely lit up the CNN panel. His answer was brutal. JENNINGS: “Well, neither because it’s expected he campaigns in every election. He’s the most partisan ate-up with politics ex-president we’ve ever had. I expect him to show up in every race, in every jurisdiction in the country. He can’t stand it. He has to be involved in politics, politics all the time.” But then Jennings turned the question around. If Democrats are really as confident about Abdul El-Sayed as they claim, why do they need Obama on the ground in Michigan? JENNINGS: “What it tells me, though, is that all this Democratic confidence you hear out there about El-Sayed is a little misplaced, because I don’t think Obama would be going there if they were so confident about it.” “And it also tells you something critical about the weakness in his coalition. He has significant trouble with African American voters in the Democratic primary. He has not shored up that support in Michigan.” “They need Obama to try to do that. I’m not sure it’s going to be the total answer, but it’s not really a surprising development to me.” That was the part the CNN panel probably didn’t want to hear. Jennings basically turned Obama’s involvement into evidence that Democrats aren’t nearly as confident about Michigan as they claim to be.
— Overton (@overton_news) October 6, 2026
JENNINGS: Well, neither because it’s expected he campaigns in every election. He’s the most partisan ate-up with politics ex-president we’ve ever had. I expect him to show up in every race, in every jurisdiction in the country. He can’t stand it. He has to be involved in politics, politics all the time.
What it tells me, though, is that all this Democratic confidence you hear out there about El-Sayed is a little misplaced, because I don’t think Obama would be going there if they were so confident about it.
And it also tells you something critical about the weakness in his coalition. He has significant trouble with African American voters in the Democratic primary. He has not shored up that support in Michigan.
They need Obama to try to do that. I’m not sure it’s going to be the total answer, but it’s not really a surprising development to me.
The facial expressions on the CNN panel say it all.
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