Obama's Endorsement Turned Out To Be Kiss of Death for Candidates
Celebrities were not the only ones who campaigned for and endorsed various Democratic candidates. Celebrities were also not the only ones who experienced an epic fail from their “help.”
Taylor Swift for Phil Bredesen (lost)
Oprah Winfrey for Stacey Abrams (lost)
Beyonce for Beto O’Rourke (lost)
Rihanna for Andrew Gillum (lost)
T.I. for Ben Jealous (lost). Jim Carey berating Cruz. (Wins) Former SEAL Mocked by ‘SNL’ Wins TX House Seat.— pattykins (@pattykins8) November 7, 2018
In a move that went against the norm, former President Barack Obama also hit the campaign trail, endorsing Democrats in Senate and gubernatorial races. Like his celebrity pals, his help also failed to bring in wins.
Obama took norm-breaking step of campaigning in midterm against his successor. Visited Indiana, Georgia, Florida in recent days. Didn’t go well. Indiana and Florida flipped Senate seats from Dem to GOP. Democrat Abrams lost governor race in GA.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) November 7, 2018
Obama campaigned for the following losing candidates:
Joe Donnelly
Richard Cordray
Andrew Gillum
Stacy Abrams
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 7, 2018
Some have called his endorsement a “kiss of death,” and the election results seem to back up that theory.
What I learned this election cycle:@BarackObama’s endorsement is a political kiss of death.
Politely decline next time, political-hopefuls!
Americans views him as a bad salesman who has his strings pulled by globalists.
Trump obliterated his legacy.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 7, 2018
The crowds that turned up for his rallies were small, particularly when contrasted with those that turned up for President Donald Trump. This could have been viewed as an indicator of things to come.
@CBSThisMorning @GMA @kathygriffin THIS SAYS IT ALL….OBAMA VS TRUMP CROWD TURNOUT pic.twitter.com/okutZOr2yO
— pat kay (@KayPat9999) November 3, 2018
The takeaway from all of this could be that the American people are “over” Obama. It could also be that they are sick of the divisiveness.
Obama was known for being divisive during his presidency. That didn’t change when he was campaigning for others, and that may have added to his “kiss of death” for them.
You know the divisiveness in the U.S. is bad when even Rep. Nancy Pelosi, projected to hold her seat in the House of Representatives, calls for an end to it. In her speech after the Democrats won control of the House, she was clear about that.
“We will have accountability and we will strive for bipartisanship with fairness on all sides,” says Nancy Pelosi, “A Democratic congress will work for solutions that bring us together because we have all had enough of division.”https://t.co/moYOfg9CCw pic.twitter.com/IhfkUKNZrC
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 7, 2018
She said, “We will have accountability and we will strive for bipartisanship with fairness on all sides. A Democratic Congress will work for solutions that bring us together because we have all had enough of division.”
It likely was not intended as an indictment of Obama and his divisiveness. But the voters appear to have said as much themselves when they cast their ballots against those he endorsed.
While the Democrats had enough wins to take the House, they didn’t have the damaging “Blue Wave” wins they hoped for elsewhere. Republicans retained power in the Senate and won gubernatorial seats. Many view this as more winning for Trump and company, especially considering how well Republicans did in the midterms under Trump versus how midterms went for prior presidents and their parties.
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