MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — President Barack Obama began a cross-country fundraising trip Monday, heading for states where Democratic candidates for governor and Congress face difficult races and where, two years from now, the president’s own political fate may be determined.
Starting here in Wisconsin, Obama will visit five states over the next three days in the most extensive fundraising trip of his presidency. Three — Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida — provided crucial swing-state victories for Obama in 2008 and remain highly competitive heading into the midterm elections. California and Washington, the other two states on the itinerary, were comfortably blue two years ago, but Obama’s popularity has declined in both.
Obama will speak at six events for House and Senate Democrats and a trio of gubernatorial candidates, and is expected to raise millions of dollars. He will also appear at three public events designed to highlight various elements of an economic recovery that he says is slowly taking shape because of actions by his administration.
The first of those public appearances was here Monday at ZBB Energy, a company that makes advanced battery storage systems and that benefited from stimulus money.
During his travels, Obama also plans to meet with small-business owners at a bakery in Seattle and with a family in Columbus, Ohio, to talk about the economic progress that he argues would be reversed if Republicans took control of Congress in November.
“Obviously, we have a lot more work ahead,” Obama, his suit jacket off and sleeves rolled up, told 100 or so ZBB employees gathered in a chilly warehouse. “But what’s clear is we’re headed in the right direction. And that means the worst mistake we could make is to turn back to doing the things that got us into this mess.”
As the midterm election season shapes up, the White House is discussing how best to deploy Obama, whose popularity has declined more in some competitive states and districts than in others. Vice President Joe Biden will also hit the campaign trail, particularly in regions where Obama may not be as well-liked.
So far, the president is primarily raising money rather than appearing alongside candidates on the trail, although that could change as races tighten. His current trip focuses primarily on Democratic gubernatorial candidates; 37 governors will be picked in November.
In Los Angeles, he will speak at the only event of the trip to benefit the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
