In a rowdy Newark rally Saturday night, former President Barack Obama joined Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) in the final push to elect her New Jersey’s next governor.
A few thousand attendees packed the Cleo Hill Sr. Physical Education Building’s stands at Essex County College, where a group of national and state Democrats urged voters to reject Sherrill’s opponent, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, and send a message to President Donald Trump. Obama, entering the gymnasium to an uproarious crowd, said Sherrill can keep New Jersey on a path to protect vulnerable residents and rebuke his presidential successor, all in one fell swoop.
“Mikie doesn’t just say the right thing,” he said. “As your governor, she will do the right thing. She understands that government can make a difference in people’s lives. By educating our kids for the jobs of the future, keeping our air and water clean, protecting consumers from fraud and dangerous products.”
The 44th president contrasted Sherrill’s promises to lower costs and stabilize the state with Trump’s presidency, which he deemed chaotic and unsuccessful. He said that while Trump declared a state of emergency to implement tariffs that raised prices, Sherrill will implement a state of emergency on her first day to freeze utility rates.
“Every day this White House offers up a new batch of lawlessness and carelessness and mean-spiritedness, and just plain old craziness,” Obama said.
Politicians and pundits across the country are keeping a close eye on the election, which offers some of the first direct voter feedback to the Trump presidency. Democrats are especially hoping a victory in New Jersey, a race many deem competitive, will give the party energy after last year’s crushing loss to Trump.
Obama criticized Ciattarelli and his closeness to Trump, saying the Republican would “suck up” to the president if elected governor. He also joked about Ciattarelli’s prior losses in 2017 and 2021 bids for the governorship.
“Mikie’s opponent has now run for governor three times in a row. I believe in persistence, but at a certain point…” Obama wondered aloud.
The former president attacked Ciattarelli’s “A” grade for Trump, mentioning the leaked war plans in a group chat with a journalist and asking if there was really “no room for improvement.” References to Ciattarelli and Trump were invariably met with boos from the crowd, prompting his usual response: “Don’t boo, vote!”
“We don’t need a governor who puts party and ideology ahead of the people,” Obama said.
Obama, who possesses the strongest approval ratings of any living president, started the day rallying in Virginia with Abigail Spanberger, the state’s Democratic nominee for governor. Sherrill and Ciattarelli are facing off to succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited.
Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy joined the rally, sparking chants of “Thank you, Phil” from the crowd. The governor said Sherrill will stand up to Trump, including on the pause of funding for the Gateway Tunnel project, which the president said he’s “terminated.”
“If you vote today, tomorrow, or on Tuesday, we can bend history toward our dreams.”
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin joined the attacks on Trump, calling Ciattarelli and the president “two sides of the same bad penny: arrogant, out of touch, and obsessed with helping the rich.” The DNC and its affiliated groups have spent millions boosting Sherrill’s candidacy. DNC officials said today that volunteers have knocked on more than 700,000 doors and made more than 4.3 million calls to New Jersey voters.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who finished second to Sherrill in June’s Democratic primary, said Mikie Sherrill is on the side of “justice, righteousness” in New Jersey.
“You have to be in this fight,” Baraka told the crowd. “Your kids depend on it, your neighbors depend on it, your city, your state depends on it.”
Senator Cory Booker — joined by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), and LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) — said Ciattarelli will join Trump in his aggressive deportations with “masked people jumping out of unmarked cars,” referencing the increasingly common practice from immigration agents.
“We are the people of hope,” Booker told the crowd.
Trump joined Ciattarelli in a “telephone rally” earlier this month, and the president’s political operation is spending millions in the final days to boost turnout in New Jersey and Virginia, according to Axios. Trump, who generally holds negative approval ratings in New Jersey and nationwide, hasn’t rallied for Ciattarelli in the state this year.
Other speakers at the Obama rally included lieutenant governor nominee Dale Caldwell, State Democratic Chair LeRoy Jones Jr., Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo Jr., State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch), and Assemblywoman Andrea Katz (D-Chesterfield).
Campaign organizers hope Obama’s visit will energize a Democratic base concerned with Trump’s — as Obama put it — abuse of power. But the former president drew a larger lesson, saying the current political moment is just one part of a larger struggle for opportunity for all. He expressed concerns about the country’s widening wealth disparities, the “abdication” of Congress’s role as a co-equal branch of government, and the embrace of a “pecking order” that only allows people at the top to succeed. Sherrill’s election, he said, is vital in protecting New Jersey from worsening those conditions.
Obama rallied for Murphy during his 2017 and 2021 campaigns for governor, but the tenor of this rally was different. In 2021, Democrats expected Murphy to coast to re-election, but his mere three-point victory gave the party a shock. The same feeling arose last fall, when New Jersey’s presidential vote swung 10 points toward Donald Trump from 2020 to 2024. Just days from Election Day, Democrats are bracing for the worst and Republicans are praying for an upset. Obama doesn’t want to leave it to chance.
“If you meet this moment, if you believe that change can happen, you will not just elect Mikie Sherrill your next governor, you will not just put New Jersey on a path to a brighter future, but you will set a glorious example for your nation,” he closed. “Let’s get to work.”
