President Barack Obama and his wife are dead weight in U.S. politics.
They flew out to support a series of Democratic gubernatorial candidates in solid-blue states, only to see several lose in the GOP wave, including the Democratic incumbent in Illinois.
Obama flew out to Chicago Oct. 19 to help his home state governor, Gov. Pat Quinn — but Quinn lost to his GOP challenger Bruce Rauner.
It’s a humiliation for Obama, whose political career was launched by the city. It is a potential disaster for his home-state political machine, if the new GOP governor can gradually rebuild GOP representation in the state and in Chicago.
Quinn lost by 5 points to Rauner, 50 percent to 45 percent. Quinn was 0.8 percent ahead in the last few pre-election polls.
“Today, Illinois leads the country in the number of three-year-olds in preschool. He fought for civil rights, fought for the right of every Illinoisan to marry who they love… He’s fighting for you every single day… you’ve got to have his back and go out there and vote for Pat Quinn,” Obama said in his Oct. 19 rally.
Obama held a rally for Maryland Democrat Anthony Brown Oct. 19, where some people walked out of his speech.
“If we elect more governors like Anthony Brown… we’re not just going to win an election, we’re going to keep rebuilding this economy so it works for everybody,” he declared, as polls showed Brown was 13 points ahead.
GOP candidate Larry Hogan has won the solid-blue state.
Michelle Obama also went to Maryland to tout Anthony Brown on Nov. 3. “I know we can elect Anthony Brown as Governor of Maryland. And I know that together, we can build a future worthy of all our children,” Michelle Obama said.
Obama headlined a Nov. 2 rally for Connecticut governor Dan Malloy. At press time, Malloy was losing to GOP candidate Tom Foley.
“I can’t vote in Connecticut, but I’ll tell you who I’d vote for. I’d want Dan Malloy leading us for another four years,” Obama declared.
On Oct. 3, Michelle Obama boosted the Democratic candidate for Massachusetts governor.
“She has stood up time and again to protect contraceptive coverage because she believes that women should make their own health care decisions… I know we can elect Martha Coakley as governor of Massachusetts,” she said.
Coakley lost to the GOP candidate, Charlie Baker, turning another solid-blue state into a purple state.
But Obama had a few wins.
Obama also flew out to Rhode Island on Oct. 31 to tout Democratic candidate Gina Raimondo, who led the race in November by four points. She beat the GOP rival, Allan Fung.
On Nov. 2, Obama did headline an event to help Tom Wolf win the Pennsylvania governorship.