Obama urges Ohio voters to end two years of 'cruelty' in tight midterms

Barack Obama told Ohio voters on Saturday to reject the current administration after two years of what he described as chaos and corruption.

The former president campaigned for Democratic candidates in the state ahead of the midterm elections. He joined former Senator Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton on stage. Brown is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted.

Obama focused his remarks on President Donald Trump’s second term. He accused the current president of making poor decisions, specifically citing the US-Israel war on Iran. "The current president chose to make a series of bad decisions, most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for," Obama stated.

He argued that the past two years have been marked by incompetence that is rare in the modern era. "After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, the likes of which we have not seen in the modern era, you get a chance to say, ‘Enough is enough,’" he said.

The rally also addressed a contentious issue in Ohio’s gubernatorial race. Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy aired an attack ad featuring Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur. Arthur disputed Acton’s account of childhood homelessness and sexual abuse by her stepfather. Acton says she has not seen her mother since 1978. Her brother has supported her account, and the stepfather, who died in 2004, was charged with rape.

Obama defended Acton, noting that she has spoken movingly about her painful childhood. He criticized Ramaswamy’s campaign, saying, "In recent days, we’ve seen there is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to." Current polls show Democrats holding a slight lead in both major Ohio races, with results expected to be close.