Former President Barack Obama is jumping in on the Democrats’ plan to retake Ohio with an appearance on Thursday for Richard Cordray, a candidate for governor, Politico is reporting.
Cordray, who served as attorney general of Ohio, was appointed by Obama to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). He had been one of a just a few Ohio Democrats to support Obama over Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary, according to Politico.
A Politico/AARP poll released this week showed Republican Mike DeWine leading Cordray by just 39-38 percent.
And Politico noted President Donald Trump swept Ohio and nearby states in 2016.
National Democrats, looking to rebuild their party, already have campaigned for Cordray. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., already have campaigned for him.
After Obama’s planned appearance was announced, the Republican National Committee sent out an email blasting Cordray and saying he “hurt small businesses and consumers” while overseeing the CFPB.
“It's no surprise that President Obama is attempting to inject life into Richard Cordray's campaign, after Cordray spent years in Washington implementing a partisan agenda of over-regulation at the nation's most unaccountable agency,” RNC spokesperson Mandi Merritt said.
But Joe Rugola, a Democratic National Committee member said: “There’s no question that we have a dynamic working in our favor” this year.
Earlier this month, Obama had made a strongly worded critique of Trump during an appearance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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