Editor's note: This story was originally published in the Richmond Capital News Service.
NORFOLK, Va. — Former President Barack Obama urged Virginians to support Democrat Abigail Spanberger on the last weekend before a nationally-elevated governor’s election serving as one of the first referendums on President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
As the national Democratic party reckons with its future after a 2024 election loss, Virginia Democrats turned back to the Obama-era message “Yes we can” and urged attendees to vote to “send a message” to the Trump administration at a rally on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The rally had attendees waiting for hours in anticipation of Obama’s appearance. Ahead of his appearance, Democrats like Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) and Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) called on the audience to repeat Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign slogan “Yes we can.”
When he appeared for a closing speech, Obama brought up the current state of American politics, which he described as needing light and inspiration.
“Our country and politics are in a pretty dark place right now”, Obama said. “It’s like every day is Halloween except it’s all tricks and no treats.”
Obama repeatedly tore into the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress for what he perceived as a lack of checks on the executive branch.
“We’ve got a president who thinks it’s okay to use the justice department to go after his political opponents,” Obama said.
Last month, the Trump administration indicted former Trump national security adviser John Bolton and New York Attorney General Letita James, both staunch critics of Trump.
Obama also took aim at the Trump administration’s abnormal use of presidential social media accounts.
Two weeks ago, Trump posted an AI-generated video on Truth Social of him with a crown on, flying a fighter jet and dumping what appeared to be poop on a crowd of protestors, akin to those at the No Kings Protests that same weekend.
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“All of that is designed to distract you,” Obama said to the crowd. “From the fact that your situation hasn’t gotten better.”
Obama ended his speech on a more optimistic note.
“I believe in an America where we don’t fear each other, but look out for each other,” he said. “And if we want that story to continue, if we believe in that better story, we need leaders who believe in it too.”
Obama’s appearance comes as Democrats continue to examine what led to the party’s presidential election loss in 2024.
The message “Yes we can” was first used during Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Now, some Democrats are looking back to that message for hope.
Democrat and Virginia Beach resident Julie Agles said that the “Yes we can” message gave her hope.
“We can change things again, you know?” Agles said. “Yes we can, again.”
Suzanne Berman, who is also from Virginia Beach, took a pragmatic approach to the party’s future.
“I think for either party, it’s really about focusing on the positive and how to move forward and how to work together,” she said.
Recent polling suggests Democrats hold a lead in the governor and lieutenant governor races but lag behind in the race for attorney general.
A poll from Roanoke College last week has Spanberger ahead of Earle-Sears by 10 points. That same poll shows Republican Jason Miyares up eight points against Democrat Jay Jones, erasing Jones’s polling lead from September.
Jay Jones’s lead in the attorney general race began to slip after a series of violent text messages he sent while a member of the House of Delegates was reported by the National Review in October.
Despite this scandal, Democrats doubled down on their support for Jones at the rally. Democrat speakers, including U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine and U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott specifically called on attendees to vote for Jones.
Spanberger, however, had distanced herself from Jones’s comments at the gubernatorial debate in early October. In that same debate, she also avoided answering a question of whether or not she still endorsed Jones.
But today, Spanberger had Jones as a featured speaker at her rally.
Jones did not mention the scandal during his speech, which was met with applause from members of the audience. Instead, he focused on criticizing his opponent, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, for what Jones said is not standing up to the Trump administration.
In her speech, Spanberger did not mention Jones by name. Instead, she called on voters to support Democratic candidates running for the Virginia House of delegates.
“In every corner of our commonwealth, we have people who want to serve their communities, who want to bring the voices of their neighbors to Richmond,” Spanberger said.
Spanberger touted her ranking of the most bipartisan member of the Virginia House of Representatives delegation in Congress.
“I will always stand up for Virginia families, I will always work to grow our economy,” Spanberger said. “And I will always put Virginia, not a president, not a party, first.”
Contact editor-in-chief Nick Mossman at nick.mossman@richmond.edu
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