EX-PREZ’S PRIORITY LIST
Obama jumps into midterms; endorses Pritzker, Raoul, Casten, Kelly, Underwood
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday endorsed 81 Democrats — including Illinois contenders J.B. Pritzker, Kwame Raoul, Sean Casten, Lauren Underwood and Brendan Kelly — avoiding divisive feuds by staying out of states that have not yet held primaries.
“This is just the first batch,” Obama adviser Eric Schultz told the Chicago SunTimes. “We couldn’t get everyone done in one batch. So we are going to keep plowing our way through.”
A Democrat endorsing a Democratic nominee is routine.
What the Obama list signifies is who Obama is going to do something to help in advance of the November midterms.
Obama’s priority list of 81 was put together in consultation with the Democratic House and Senate political operations and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, chaired by Eric Holder, who was Obama’s first Attorney General. The redistricting group is focused on electing Democrats in target states to gain control of remaps following the 2020 Census.
The 81 also includes 20 alums from the Obama White House and Obama’s two campaigns running for state legislative seats, governorships, other statewide offices and Congress.
Underwood, a health policy adviser in the Obama administration where she worked at the Department of Health and Human Services, is battling Rep. Randy Hultgren, D-Ill., in the suburban 14th Congressional District.
Former Obama administration officials who have hosted fundraisers for Underwood include Valerie Jarrett, an Obama senior adviser who plays key roles in his post-presidency; former Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Mike Strautmanis, who worked with Jarrett in the Obama White House and now is an executive at the Obama Presidential Foundation.
The details of when Obama will hit the road and what kind of events he will do — or ads he will cut — or robocalls he will record — have yet to be determined.
Obama is popular with the Democratic base and has largely stayed out of the debate of the future of the Democratic party being played in out in various primaries and the developing 2020 Democratic presidential field.
In Illinois, Obama’s home state, his backing will help get out the vote — but that does not guarantee victory. In 2014, Obama and then first lady Michelle stumped for Quinn and he lost to Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The dynamics of 2018 are different — starting with Democratic activism at a high as a result of the election of President Donald Trump.
Obama alluded to Trump in his statement about the 81. “I’m confident that, together, they’ll strengthen this country we love by restoring opportunity that’s broadly shared, repairing our alliances and standing in the world, and upholding our fundamental commitment to justice, fairness, responsibility, and the rule of law.”
Pritzker’s campaign manager Anne Caprara told the Sun-Times Obama’s political impact is magnified in Illinois, his adopted home state, because voters “feel a special connection to the president and the Obamas in general.”
With Democratic voter enthusiasm in Illinois increasing, with an Obama jolt, “it is just another way to motivate them to get out and vote,” Caprara said.
Raoul, a state senator from Chicago’s South Side, running for attorney general, replaced Obama in Springfield after he was elected a U.S. senator in 2004.
Raoul faces Republican nominee Erika Harold for spot being vacated by Democratic incumbent Lisa Madigan. In the Trump era, the attorneys general are increasingly important in filing legal challenges to uphold or end Trump policies.
“We have lived in the same neighborhood, represented the same communities and worked to address many of the same “challenges. His confidence is meaningful to me,” Raoul said in a statement.
Vice President Mike Pence has traveled to Illinois recently to do events for GOP Illinois Reps. Peter Roskam and Mike Bost, being challenged for the downstate 12th District seat by Kelly, the St. Clair state’s attorney.
Casten, taking on Roskam in the suburban 6th District — one of the battlegrounds for control of the House — said in a statement, “Like many, I miss a President who put facts over politics . . . . Obama showed us how great we can be, and I look forward to continuing to advance his — and our — collective agenda.”
Biden to rally Illinois Dems
Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden, testing the waters for a 2020 presidential run, headlines the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association brunch on Aug. 16, during the Illinois State Fair — an event designed to fire up the base in the final weeks of the campaigns.