Former President Obama is hitting the campaign trail this weekend to try to boost his party in off-year elections.

Getting Obama, the party’s biggest star, on the road is an effort to ensure voters get to the polls, though there are questions about whether the former president still has the kind of standing to make a mark with voters in getting them out to vote.

“The 2025 off-year elections are not held in a normal election year so this is more about turnout than it is about persuasion,” said Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, who worked as a senior adviser for Bernie Sander’s presidential campaigns. “So Obama does not hurt anything because you’re trying to remind people and motivate the base to go vote and the base still loves Obama.”

On Saturday, Obama will appear alongside Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democrat vying for governor in New Jersey. He will also stump for Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, hoping to give a last-minute push to both candidates.

If Sherrill and........

© The Hill