Former President Barack Obama returned to Ohio on Saturday, Oct. 24, as Democrats aim to energize their voters ahead of a close midterm election.
Obama joined former Sen. Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton for a rally at Cleveland Public Auditorium. Brown and Acton are locked in tight races ahead of the Nov. 3 election, which could determine control of the U.S. Senate and put a Democrat in the Ohio governor’s office for the first time since 2011.
"After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, the likes of which we have not seen in modern times, you get a chance to say enough is enough," Obama told the Cleveland crowd as he criticized President Donald Trump. "We are voting for change right here in Ohio."
The event marks Obama's first trip to the Buckeye State since 2018, when he campaigned for Rich Cordray in his race against Gov. Mike DeWine.
"Hope is what drives this campaign," Acton told the crowd. "Because when we're in this together we can make life better for all Ohioans."
Democrats have struggled to win statewide office in Ohio since Trump and the GOP made inroads with disaffected voters. But the party sees a window of opportunity as Trump's approval rating drops and voters struggle with the cost of living, including high gas prices.
"The sight of Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama together again should send shivers down Ohioans' spines," said Amy Natoce, a spokesperson for Sen. Jon Husted's campaign. "The Brown-Obama duo gave us higher taxes, less jobs and wide open borders. Ohioans are ready to retire Sherrod Brown once and for all by electing Jon Husted on Nov. 3."
Brown went after Husted on his ties to data centers.
"Jon Husted is the face of data centers. He led the charge to bring 226 data centers to our state," Brown said.
Obama's visit also comes amid backlash over an ad from Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that shows Acton's estranged mother accusing Acton of lying about her childhood and urging Ohioans not to vote for her. Acton's mother, Donna Stearns Arthur, lost custody of her children after Acton's stepfather was charged with sexually abusing Acton as a child.
Ramaswamy has doubled down on the ad and rebuffed DeWine's call to take it down. Husted said he wouldn't have run it.
"Mr. Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch. You are out for yourself and you are a danger to my state," Acton told the crowd.
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@usatodayco.com or @haleybemiller on X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'We are voting for change right here in Ohio,' Obama tells Cleveland crowd
