Obama Tweets Midterm Endorsements, Gives Zero Love to Ocasio-Cortez
Though he has largely been keeping a low political profile since leaving office — save for globetrotting in the wake of President Donald Trump’s foreign trips, or delivering an occasional speech in which he takes subtle shots at his successor — former President Barack Obama was bound to re-emerge on the political scene sooner or later.
It would appear that he did so on Wednesday with a tweet that listed his “first wave” of official endorsements ahead of the fast-approaching midterm elections in November.
According to NBC News, the former president — as well as former first lady — released lists of the candidates they favored in dozens of states across the country in races that range from governor and congressional seats to state legislatures and other state-level offices.
Obama tweeted, “Today I’m proud to endorse such a wide and impressive array of Democratic candidates – leaders as diverse, patriotic, and big-hearted as the America they’re running to represent:”
Today I’m proud to endorse such a wide and impressive array of Democratic candidates – leaders as diverse, patriotic, and big-hearted as the America they’re running to represent: pic.twitter.com/gWzalQhFas
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 1, 2018
He added in a follow-up tweet, “I’m confident that, together, they’ll strengthen this country we love by restoring opportunity, repairing our alliances and standing in the world, and upholding our fundamental commitment to justice, fairness, responsibility, and the rule of law. But first, they need our votes.” Noticeably absent from that remark is any reference to the Constitution.
A quick look at that list of 81 Democrat candidates also revealed one other rather obvious omission. New York congressional candidate, media-adored “fresh face” of the Democrat Party and openly admitted “democratic” socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was missing, as was pointed out by Mediaite and others.
It remains unclear at this time why Obama chose to not issue an endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez, and thus far there has been no word from her campaign.
Ocasio-Cortez knocked off long-time incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley — a member of the Democrats’ House leadership team and potential successor to Nancy Pelosi — in New York’s June primary election, and has since become a darling of the left and the liberal media, even being heralded as the future of the party.
Obama may have snubbed her because he favored Crowley, or perhaps because he isn’t comfortable with her openness about being socialist. Or it could just be that he decided she didn’t need any help retaining what is widely viewed as a safe seat for Democrats. He may very well issue an endorsement of her in a second round to come later.
NBC noted another rather prominent young Democrat was missing from Obama’s list as well — senatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging incumbent Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — but pointed out that he might also be included in future endorsements.
As an aside, it was further noted that Obama had endorsed quite a few candidates on the state level, which would presumably serve to aid his priority of gaining Democrat majorities in more states ahead of 2020’s post-Census congressional redistricting.
However, that could also be part of his effort to repair the devastating damage done to his party while he was in office, during which Democrats lost a huge number of seats at the national and state level, which he has, perhaps begrudgingly, accepted some responsibility for.
The Washington Examiner also noted that, aside from Ocasio-Cortez and O’Rourke, Obama also refrained from issuing endorsements for the red-state Democrat senators facing tough re-election battles this year, such as Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp or West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.
The lack of endorsements for those Senate candidates is likely nothing personal at all, and ironically could even work to their benefit as an official Obama endorsement in deep red states that voted overwhelming for Trump and view the former president rather unfavorably could prove to be a kiss of death politically for their re-election bids.
It will be interesting to see how these endorsements from Obama play out come Election Day, as well as whom Obama decides to also endorse in additional waves as the election draws closer.
But the obvious slight of Ocasio-Cortez won’t go without notice among her supporters on the hard left, and could come back to bite the former president’s favored candidates among his own leftward-shifting base.
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