Former President Barack Obama has inserted himself in New Jersey's gubernatorial race in an effort to bolster Rep. Mikie Sherrill's chances of victory in a surprisingly close contest, Fox News reported. However, New Jersey Republicans called out Obama for what they're saying is a "Hail Mary" pass as the clock runs out in order to drum up "fake excitement" for the candidate.
There was a time when Obama was a superstar of the Democratic Party and absolutely untouchable. Now, people see him for the political hack that he is, especially those who were formerly his base of voters, and are on to their tricks.
During a Turning Point Action rally on Monday in Medford, New Jersey, attendee and New Jersey voter Shawn Crump laid out the problem with Democrats placing their hopes in Obama. "I'll say this as an African-American, we're done hearing Barack Obama try to tell us how we're supposed to vote," Crump said
"Because, full disclosure, I was a Democrat," Crump confessed. "I worked on his campaign in 2008, and he just let us down. He let this country down, but he especially let down a lot of African-Americans. So we really don't want to hear him tell us how we were supposed to go," Crump added.
On Saturday night, Obama attended a rally for Sherrill in Newark, New Jersey, to urge the Garden State to vote for the Democrat once again. "New Jersey, I remember just a year ago, just a year ago, I remember talking to folks who would tell me, this election doesn’t matter," Obama claimed, referring to President Donald Trump's glorious 2024 victory.
"These are simple, educated, bright people. They say, 'Whoever the next president ends up being, it’s not going to affect me.' That’s what they would say," the former president went on. "If nothing else, the last nine months should have cured us of that idea, because the stakes are now clear," Obama went on.
"We don’t need to speculate about the dangers to our democracy. They’re here. We don’t need to wonder if harm is going to be done to vulnerable people, or whether the public conversation will become meaner and coarser. We’re witnessing it. Elections matter, and they matter to you, and they matter to your family. We are being tested, and what is remarkable about America is that it gives us the power, as citizens, to change this country," he said.
"We all have more power than we sometimes imagine. We’ve just got to use it. So, if you believe in that better story of America, you cannot sit this one out," Obama implored the audience. He shared a clip of his remarks in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
If nothing else, the last nine months should have made it clear that elections matter. But what’s remarkable about America is that we have the power, as citizens, to change this country by voting. Go to https://t.co/NKXRGNgbZX. pic.twitter.com/pg2KD4qsg2
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 4, 2025
Far from the optimism of his hope and change campaign, Obama's words smacked of desperation. "Let's face it, our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now," Obama said earlier in his speech, stirring up the anti-Trump hysteria.
"It's hard to know where to start, because every day this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and carelessness and mean-spiritedness. And just plain old craziness," Obama added. Although New Jersey is typically a reliably Democratic state, it also voted in former GOP Gov. Chris Christie in 2013 and went for George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election against Democrat Michael Dukakis.
Trump nearly succeeded in flipping the state in 2024, losing by only six points but securing five counties for Republicans, which could explain why the Democratic Party appears to be in a state of panic. Burlington County Young Republicans' Joe Sereday told Fox News Digital that voters are coming out in droves for Ciattarelli, as Democrats seem to be throwing everything they can at this race.
"I think it's kind of old news now. Usually, when the Democrats roll in these big names — Obama, who else was here, Andy Kim, Cory Booker — usually that means they're in trouble," Sereday pointed out.
The dynamics of this election and the Democrats' response seem to indicate a severe lack of confidence. However, the true measure of their worries won't be known until Election Day results roll in, and it's anybody's game until then.
