Vice President Kamala Harris has enlisted former President Barack Obama, arguably the most popular person in the Democratic Party, to campaign for her Thursday in battleground Pennsylvania.
Mr. Obama hosted a rally without Ms. Harris in Pittsburgh, a critical part of Pennsylvania that he carried twice. The Keystone State may decide whether she or former President Donald Trump wins on Nov. 5.
The vice president is betting that Mr. Obama’s legacy as the first Black president will supercharge her base, boost her popularity with Black voters and bring undecideds to her camp.
Speaking at a rally at the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Obama tore into Mr. Trump, saying he understood that people are suffering and looking to “shake things up,” but a vote for Mr. Trump would hurt the working class.
“What I cannot understand is why anybody would think that Donald Trump would shake things up in a way that is good for you, Pennsylvania,” he said. “I don’t understand that because there is absolutely no evidence this man thinks about anybody but himself.”
When the crowd responded by booing the GOP presidential candidate, Mr. Obama admonished them: “Don’t boo. Vote.”
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The presence of Mr. Obama is a sure sign that the Harris campaign is moving into overdrive in the close race. This week, her campaign switched its efforts from fundraising to pushing voters to get to know Ms. Harris through a media blitz.
Ahead of the Harris rally, Mr. Obama stopped by a Harris campaign office in Pittsburgh to thank volunteers and drop off pastries from a local bakery.
He also addressed several Black men — a demographic group with which Ms. Harris is struggling — and urged them to vote for her in November. Mr. Obama acknowledged that Ms. Harris has not seen the same kind of “energy in turnout” among Black men compared to other groups.
“You have somebody who grew up just like you, knows you, went to college with you, and understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences,” Mr. Obama said, referring to Ms. Harris.
“On the other side, you have someone who has consistently shown disregard not just for the communities but for you as a person,” he said in a clear reference to Mr. Trump.
Harris campaign spokesman Ian Sams on Thursday said former President Bill Clinton will hit the campaign stump for her in Georgia and eastern North Carolina.
Mr. Sams said the former president is “going back to a kind of campaigning that he hasn’t done since before he became the Comeback Kid.”
Early voting has already begun in Pennsylvania. Ms. Harris holds a 1% lead in the commonwealth over Mr. Trump, 49% to 48%, according to an aggregate of polls. However, multiple individual polls, including Emerson College, have Mr. Trump leading by 1 percentage point.
Mr. Obama is an obvious surrogate for Ms. Harris on the campaign trail. More than 90% of Democrats and 47% of independents view him favorably, according to an August survey by The Economist and YouGov. That places him well above other Democrats, including President Biden, Mr. Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In Mr. Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, he praised Ms. Harris as the natural heir to his political legacy and revived his campaign slogan, “Yes, we can.”
In addition to campaigning for Ms. Harris, Mr. Obama also filmed an ad for Sen. Bob Casey. Mr. Obama argues in the ad that the Pennsylvania senator would hold corporations accountable for “greedflation,” guaranteeing Pennsylvanians have more money in their pockets.
“People are hurting right now. Meanwhile, corporations are raking in record profits. My friend Bob Casey is fighting back,” Mr. Obama says in the ad.
Mr. Obama also hails Mr. Casey for reducing the price of insulin and pushing for a child tax credit.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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