Obama heading to Socal to campaign for Democrats in key House races

LOS ANGELES – In his first major foray on the campaign trail ahead of November’s midterm election, former President Barack Obama will drop into Southern California on Saturday, holding a rally to boost seven Democratic candidates running in competitive House districts across the state.

His appearance, one of just a few overtly political events he’s held since leaving the White House, is a sign of the high stakes in this year’s election as Democrats try to wrest back control of the House.

It’s also an indication of California’s considerable role in Democrats’ hopedfor path to victory, with all seven Democrats competing in Republican-held districts that supported Hillary Clinton in 2016. Democrats need to capture 23 seats to take back the House. Details of the time and location of the rally have not yet been released.

Obama had already thrown his weight behind most of the candidates in August, when he released an early wave of endorsements.

Since leaving office, Obama has attended about half a dozen high-dollar fundraisers for groups such as the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He has also hit the campaign trail to help Democrats win governor’s seats in Virginia and New Jersey last year and recorded a robocall to help underdog Democrat Doug Jones capture a U.S. Senate seat in an Alabama special election.