Former President Barack Obama is looking to give Democrats in Pennsylvania a push with a new ad less than two weeks before Election Day.
In the 15-second spot, first reported on by Axios, Obama urges voters in the battleground state to support Democrats by focusing on abortion and a claim of an existential threat to the American system of government.
“In Pennsylvania you’ve got some important choices to make this year,” Obama says in the ad, which was funded by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “So when the fate of our democracy and a woman’s right to choose are on the line, vote Democrat on November 8.”
Obama is also expected to join Pennsylvania Democratic nominees on the campaign trail on November 5, three days before Election Day, Axios reported.
PRESIDENT BIDEN HITS THE VIRTUAL CAMPAIGN TRAIL, MAKING APPEARANCES WITH VULNERABLE HOUSE DEMOCRATS
While President Biden won Pennsylvania in 2020, the state is far from a slam dunk in key races. Fox News Power Rankings have the Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz as a toss-up. The gubernatorial race between Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican Doug Mastriano is currently rated as leaning Democrat.
Pennsylvania also has five House seats up for grabs, with one rated as likely Democrat, one leaning Republican, one likely Republican, and two toss-ups.
One of those toss-ups is the contest in Pennsylvania’s 8th district between incumbent Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright and Republican challenger Jim Bognet. President Biden participated in a virtual event for Cartwright on Wednesday.
Democrats are looking to hang on to a narrow majority in the House and control of what is currently an evenly-split Senate that gives Democrats an edge due to Vice President Harris’s tie-breaking vote.