NEWARK, New Jersey — Those thinking former President Barack Obama no longer has electoral influence in New Jersey would find that opinion challenged on Saturday night in Newark.
Long lines wrapped around the venue, hundreds of smiling faces, and the deafening cheers at the mere mention of his name dominated the energy inside the Essex County College gymnasium, where Obama took the stage to rally support for Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), the Democratic candidate in Tuesday’s gubernatorial race.
He was met by applause, whistles, yells, and excited chants from all corners of the venue. Much to the delight of attendees, he came equipped with his trademark dry humor jokes and a repeated line telling people, “Don’t boo. Go vote.”
His message for the evening? Elections matter.
“If you meet this moment, if you believe change can happen, you will not just elect Mikie Sherrill your next governor, you will not just put New Jersey on a path to a brighter future, you will set a glorious example for this nation,” Obama told hundreds of supporters who started lining up around the block early in the morning ahead of the rally.
Obama said Sherrill will build a “stronger, brighter future” for New Jersey that will spread “light” across the country.
“Lord knows, we need that light. We need that inspiration. Because, let’s face it, our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now,” Obama said.
“We need leaders like Mikie, public servants who are in it for the right reasons, who are focused on the future, and who will always stay connected to the people that they were elected to serve. Her opponent? Not so much,” he continued.
Sherrill is facing Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the race for the open governor’s mansion to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ). Though the congresswoman held a sizable lead for most of the general election season, recent polling shows her in a dead heat with Ciattarelli — hence the last-minute rally effort with the former president and other high-profile senators leading up to Election Day.
Obama’s stop in Newark came a few hours after he stumped for former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Norfolk, Virginia, who is also running for governor on Nov. 4.
His endorsement of Sherrill will test whether he still holds considerable sway over the Democratic electorate and can influence voters who sat out the 2024 election to come out in an off-cycle year to cast a ballot. He lent his voice to radio and digital ads leading up to Saturday’s rally.
He said Sherrill is among the “tough people” he’s met in his life, noting her military background as a pilot, work as a federal prosecutor, and life as a mother.
“Apparently, that was a little bit too easy. She decides to run for Congress. I get tired just thinking about it,” Obama quipped.
During the speech, he acknowledged that people voted for Trump in the last election because they were “understandably frustrated with inflation and high gas prices and the difficulty of affording a home, and they were worried about their children’s futures.” He also noted that in 2024, he heard from many people who told him the election “didn’t matter.”
“If nothing else, these nine months should have cured us of that idea, because the stakes are now clear,” he said. “We don’t need to speculate about the dangers to our democracy. They’re here.”
“It’s not as if we did not see some of this coming,” Obama added. “I’ll admit it’s worse than even I expected. But I did warn y’all.”
He poked fun at the GOP’s cracking down on and eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in universities and agencies.
“They never miss a chance to scapegoat minorities and blame DEI for every problem. You got a flat tire? Must be DEI. Your wife kicked you out? Who knew?” Obama said.
He wrapped up his speech by encouraging people to stand with their convictions and reminded them that despite the “dark” emotions being felt by the public, this “contest of ideas, it’s not new.”
“I still believe our best days are ahead of us,” Obama said.
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Sherrill, who spoke before Obama took the stage, said she understood that New Jersey was a critical crossroads as one of only two gubernatorial races in 2025.
“We are waging a battle at this very moment for the future of our nation and New Jersey has always answered the call to defend this country and our values,” Sherrill said.
“In these difficult times, when everything seems to come down to our election, when people across the nation look at me with fear and despair in their eyes, when they asked me, ‘Is New Jersey up for this moment?’” she asked, interrupted by cheers.
“You guys just stole my line — my answer was hell yeah,” Sherill added.
She said her campaign focuses on opportunities for New Jersey, stating that “we believe it doesn’t matter who your parents are, it doesn’t matter where you were born, you should get a shot.”
She focused heavily on her plans to install a state of emergency declaration to freeze electricity costs for at least a year after utility costs rose 22% from the previous year. She also spoke to Trump’s energy policies, arguing he is “getting rich off the higher utility prices that New Jersey families are being forced to pay,” and the freezing of funds for the Hudson Tunnel project.
“Whether it’s Medicaid, the one big beautiful betrayal, or the Gateway Tunnel, guess what? Jack Ciattarelli is nowhere to be found,” Sherrill said. “And when he is forced to talk about it, does he defend New Jersey? Does he commit to buying that money back for New Jersey? Does he say, ‘Hey, I’m serving you no matter what the cost.’ No on every single occasion.”
“Jack has decided, I’m going to defend Trump. He even gives Trump an ‘A’. Guess what? I give Trump an ‘F,’” Sherrill said.
Sherrill said as governor, her fight “doesn’t and can’t end at the border of New Jersey.”
“We’ve got to take on all those hits coming from Trump and Washington, D.C.,” she said.
“As I stand here, I feel nothing but courage,” she added. “New Jerseyans give me courage, and I’m sure the nation feels that way, too. Courage to make change, to take on special interests, the status quo, the systems that aren’t working to deliver for people, for families, to give every kid a shot. So, anger and courage are the daughters of hope.”
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Democratic leaders flock to Newark to beg for voter engagement
Saturday’s rally kicked off with speeches from local labor unions and county and state officials, as well as an energetic performance by the local senior citizens’ East Orange Silver Steppers dance troupe.
The featured songs of Saturday’s rally were “Hit The Road Jack” by Ray Charles, a knock at Ciattarelli, as well as “Hey Mickey” by Sweet California, a nod to Sherrill.
All speakers had the same message: voters cannot sit by and be complacent in Tuesday’s election.
“If you’re not in this fight, you’re nowhere,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said. “You have to be in this fight. You can’t be home, you can’t be on the sidelines, you can’t argue on TV or put things on Twitter. You got to get out. You got to vote.”
Other big names in Democratic politics took the stage, including Murphy, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), New Jersey’s congressional Democratic delegation, and Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin. All pleaded with supporters not to “sit on the sidelines” and instead vote in the Garden State’s competitive gubernatorial election on Nov. 4.
Ahead of Obama’s appearance, Booker joked, “I miss Obama … and I miss her husband, too.”
Booker spent his speech blasting the Republican trifecta in Washington, D.C., with the senator calling it “one of the most outrageous periods of American history.” He said President Donald Trump’s policies have seeped across state lines, pointing to cuts to Medicaid and immigration operations occurring in cities across the country.
“This is one of those moments — it’s a rare one for our state — where this election has become about something so much bigger,” Booker said.
“All over the United States of America, people are looking at New Jersey, and I will tell you right now, we are the people of hope. We are the light that’s rising,” he added.
Several of the speakers called Ciattarelli “100% MAGA” — a line Democrats have used for months as Sherrill’s campaign has worked to tie the Republican candidate to Trump in order to show that he would be an extension of the administration and won’t fight for New Jersey.
Martin said Ciattarelli and Trump are “two sides of the same bad coin.”
At one point, a supporter required brief medical assistance. Murphy, after calling for first responders, quipped, “I was starting to tell you what the state would look like if Jack were left and then somebody collapsed. Who could blame them?”
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Booker also said the election is about “defending New Jersey from Donald Trump and his minions,”
“When we vote, we send a message that Donald Trump is on the way out and democracy is on the way in,” the senator said, receiving loud cheers.