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WASHINGTON: Former President Barack Obama will return to Philadelphia on Wednesday (October 21) for his first in-person campaign event of 2020 for Joe Biden.
In 2016, the man known as one of the loudest speakers in the Democratic Party delivered Hillary Clinton’s final argument in the same place: at a rally for thousands the night before Election Day on Independence Mall.
Now campaigning for the coronavirus pandemic, Obama will speak to a much smaller crowd at a rally, where supporters will hear him on the radio inside their cars.
The format reflects the challenge Democrats face in building enthusiasm and getting the vote in a year in which they have avoided large demonstrations in favor of small, socially estranged events, in contrast to President Donald Trump and the Republicans on the coronavirus .
READ: In Pennsylvania, Trump touts the economy and warns of ‘Biden slump’
While Obama is often one of the party’s biggest draws and one of the most compelling speakers, the format can mitigate that impact.
But Democrats say that, as one of the men who knows Biden best, both as his former partner in the White House and personally, Obama remains one of the party’s greatest assets down the campaign trail.
“Especially in Philadelphia, he is the ultimate attraction and continues to be a great standard-bearer for Democrats,” said former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
Obama’s visit to Philadelphia underscores the importance of Pennsylvania, the declining state that Biden himself has visited the most this campaign. If Trump loses state, his path to winning reelection narrows significantly.
And Nutter said that Obama’s appearance in Philadelphia would help boost the campaign’s position among voters who did not participate in the last presidential election, as well as voters in suburban Philadelphia who supported Obama in 2008 and 2012 but switched to Trump in 2016.
“I think it helps remind people of what’s at stake, what being president is all about, how things could be,” Nutter said.
Obama has already been helpful to the Biden campaign, adapting to the shift to virtual events by concentrating much of his work on getting younger Americans to vote.
He appeared on Twitch, the video game streaming platform, posted a voter registration message on Snapchat, and recorded a video for Shade Room, a black-owned Instagram page and media company with 21 million followers.
READ: President, Legislators, Mushrooms: Why are Americans voting on November 3?
“President Obama has been appearing during the pandemic on non-traditional platforms to reach undecided voters and mobilize younger voters who do not consume political media throughout the day,” said former Obama press secretary Ben LaBolt.
“He has the unique ability to demonstrate how Vice President Biden would approach work in the Oval Office.”
Obama has appeared on two podcasts run by some of his former aides and has lent his name to text messages and emails encouraging his followers to register to vote and donate money to the campaign.
Obama has also been a huge draw for the campaign: He appeared at two virtual fundraisers with Sen. Kamala Harris this month and a handful before that. A grassroots virtual fundraiser that Obama spearheaded with Biden in June generated $ 7.6 million.
Obama has also been active in favor of negative-voting Democrats, raising money for House Democrats and appearing in advertisements for some of the party’s top candidates, including Sara Gideon, who is running for Senate in Maine, and vulnerable incumbents like Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan.
And he filmed a series of digital videos for the Democratic National Committee emphasizing the need for voters to make plans to cast their vote.
“He’s doing enough for our campaign,” Biden told reporters before boarding a flight in New Castle, Delaware, last week. “He will be on the road and he’s doing well.”
