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Seeking to rally support for several Democratic congressional candidates across California, former President Barack Obama took a more nuanced tone on Saturday – after an energetic speech the day before he criticized his successor and the GOP.
Obama said the mid-term elections in November would give Americans "a chance to restore health in our politics" during his 20-minute speech to a crowd of about 900 loyal Democrats at the Convention Center. Anaheim, while warning the electors.
"If we do not act, things can get worse," Obama said. "We have the opportunity to return the House of Representatives; to say "Enough is enough".
But California Republicans have said that Obama's appearance would have little impact and could even help their party.
"I wish it would come more often as it reminds Republicans of eight years of misery," said Shawn Steel, a member of the Republican National Committee, who lives in Orange County. "It reminds Republicans why these midterms are important."
"I wish that [Obama] would [to California] more often because it reminds Republicans of eight years of misery. It reminds Republicans why these terms are important.
Some Democratic supporters would disagree.
Macy Bartlett, 17, a Democrat volunteer who records other young voters in Los Angeles County, told the Orange County Registry that the Obama message will help her.
"We are just saying the name of Obama and this is arousing people's interest," Bartlett told the newspaper. "He is such an icon for so many people and he understands that overthrowing the house affects everyone."
Obama made his appearance with an anecdote about how he was expelled from Disneyland for smoking cigarettes during a trip to Occidental College.
"After [a Kool & the Gang] concert, because we were teenagers, you could always go out in the park, so we got into the gondolas, and I'm ashamed to say it – so close your ears, young people – but some of them between us were smoking on the gondolas, "said Obama about his stint at Occidental, before his transfer to Columbia University for his freshman year.
Saturday's rally was the end of Obama's second campaign in a series of planned appearances that Democrats hope to give voters an attempt to overthrow 23 seats in order to take control of the House of Representatives.
He campaigned for seven California Democrats in competitive district races. Four of these districts are in Orange County, the venue of Saturday's rally and a former GOP stronghold, which Hillary Clinton won by 9 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election.
At the state level, Clinton beat Trump in California by over 4 million votes.
Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Trump loyalist, is running for a 16e term against a real estate investor Harley Rouda in his district, which includes parts of Orange County. Gil Cisneros, a Navy veteran and philanthropist Democrat, is trying to replace Republican Republican Ed Royce.
Obama also congratulated venture capitalist Josh Harder in his attempt to topple Republican Jeff Denham and T.J. Cox, who defies David Valadao in a district where Democrats have a 17-point advantage in voter registration. Both districts are in the central valley of the state.
On Friday, the former president blasted President Trump and the Republican Party over his policy during a public appearance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
But on Saturday, he said Democrats had a chance to seduce independents and Republicans unhappy with party leadership.
Trump offered no direct refutation of Obama's speech, but tweeted that Republicans were doing well until mid-term.
"The Republicans are doing very well with the Senate mid-term. The races we did not even expect to win are now very close, even leading. The night of the elections will be really interesting!
Obama is no stranger to appearances in California.
In June, he participated in an expensive fundraiser in Beverly Hills where he participated in a discussion with Tom Perez, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and participated in another
Obama should deliver the same message to Cleveland on Thursday when he will campaign for Richard Cordray, Democratic nominee for the governorship of Ohio, and for other Democrats.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
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