Obama hosts fundraiser with Senate Democrats weeks before midterms

Washington – Former President Barack Obama headlined a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Wednesday nighttime to sermon the stakes of the upcoming midterm election.

The lawsuit featured a speech betwixt Obama and Delaware Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, vice chair of the DSCC, astir Democrats' efforts to flip the Senate. 

"I deliberation helium is conscionable specified a dependable for our country, and of some realism and applicable optimism, and I deliberation we request that close now," Blunt Rochester told CBS News. "And I deliberation helium besides lays the instauration for the value of this election."

Senate Democrats person go progressively optimistic astir their prospects this autumn aft respective races shifted toward the enactment successful caller weeks, including successful deep-red states similar Texas and Ohio that are considered toss-ups, according to CBS News' battleground tracker. 

"We bash not privation to beryllium overconfident, but what we're seeing successful authorities aft authorities aft authorities is that radical are sick of Trump, they're sick of the Republican Senate going on with them, and they spot the wide divisions we person drawn betwixt what we basal for and what they basal for," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS News past month. "That has enactment america connected the borderline of victory." 

Republicans presently clasp a 53-47 bulk successful the Senate. Democrats would request to prime up 4 seats to summation power of the precocious chamber. 

Meanwhile, Republicans person argued they inactive person a way to clasp connected to the Senate.

"Right now, there's a batch of noise, determination ever is successful the governmental ambiance — immoderate of it's created by our opponents," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters earlier the assemblage went connected recess. "But if we tin enactment focused, speech astir the aboriginal and the 2 paths implicit the people of the adjacent respective weeks, based connected our grounds of accomplishment, things we got done, things we inactive request to do, we've got a large argument."

One cardinal people for some parties is Michigan. Democrats are trying to clasp the spot being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters portion Republicans spot it arsenic a premier pickup opportunity. An exclusive CBS Detroit poll, conducted by Mitchell Research and Communications, shows Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed with a constrictive vantage implicit GOP challenger and erstwhile Rep. Mike Rogers. 

Obama is expected to run with El-Sayed and different Democratic candidates successful the Wolverine State aboriginal this month. A root acquainted with the erstwhile president's reasoning said his strategy this autumn is "driven by wherever helium tin determination the needle with Democrats and persuadable voters." 

The erstwhile president has besides taped 2 twelve ads for Senate and gubernatorial candidates astir the country. Last month, helium participated successful the 2nd of two fundraisers with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, wherever helium pressed Democrats to bash much connected the contented of artificial intelligence.

"Certainly if I were moving for president adjacent year, this would beryllium 1 of my cardinal agendas, and I would person a precise wide plan, and I would speech astir this, and I would say, 'Here's our program for safety, here's our program for making definite our kids are not corrupted by this,'" Obama said. "I would beryllium reasoning astir the economical impacts successful precise factual ways and understanding: What does it mean if there's going to beryllium occupation displacement? Where is that going to hit? How are we going to respond?" 

Jeffries told CBS News helium has remained successful interaction with Obama and erstwhile Vice President Kamala Harris and expects some to beryllium engaged done Election Day. The number leader, who is poised to go the archetypal Black House Speaker if Democrats triumph power of the little chamber, predicted that House Democrats would "take backmost the majority" this fall. 

"It's an all-hands-on-deck effort," Jeffries said.