Obama hosts fundraiser with Senate Democrats with midterms less than 1 month away

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

"I think he is just such a voice for our country, and of both realism and practical optimism, and I think we need that right now," Blunt Rochester told CBS News. "And I think he also lays the foundation for the significance of this election."

"We do not want to be overconfident, but what we're seeing in state after state after state is that people are sick of Trump, they're sick of the Republican Senate going along with them, and they see the clear divisions we have drawn between what we stand for and what they stand for," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS News last month. "That has put us on the edge of victory."

Meanwhile, Republicans have argued they still have a path to hold on to the Senate.

"Right now, there's a lot of noise, there always is in the political atmosphere — some of it's created by our opponents," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters before the body went on recess. "But if we can stay focused, talk about the future and the two paths over the course of the next several weeks, based on our record of accomplishment, things we got done, things we still need to do, we've got a great argument."

Obama is expected to campaign with El-Sayed and other Democratic candidates in the Wolverine State later this month. A source familiar with the former president's thinking said his strategy this fall is "driven by where he can move the needle with Democrats and persuadable voters."

"Certainly if I were running for president next year, this would be one of my central agendas, and I would have a very clear plan, and I would talk about this, and I would say, 'Here's our plan for safety, here's our plan for making sure our kids are not corrupted by this,'" Obama said. "I would be thinking about the economic impacts in very concrete ways and understanding: What does it mean if there's going to be job displacement? Where is that going to hit? How are we going to respond?"

National Democrats invest more heavily in Gina Hinojosa after Pritzker support

In Maine Senate debate, Collins and Jackson both criticize Trump — but spar over how

GOP Super PAC pours $5 million into South Carolina Senate race, sources say

Rod Dreher: Identity Politics Destroyed the Democrats. Republicans Are Next.

In Maine Senate debate, Collins and Jackson both criticize Trump — but spar over how