Former President Barack Obama will campaign in Detroit, Michigan, on Oct. 24 alongside U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, the Michigan Democratic Party announced Monday. The date is the first day of statewide early in-person voting.
A location has not been announced. A registration page for the event says more details will be released 24 hours beforehand. Clerks across Michigan must offer early in-person voting starting Oct. 24, and Detroit offered eight early voting sites in the last election. The general election is Nov. 3.
El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health official, faces Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman from White Lake Township, in a close race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Benson, the secretary of state from Detroit, is running for governor against Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited.
El-Sayed struggled with Detroit voters in his August primary against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, and an Oakland University political scientist said an Obama appearance in the majority-Black city could help boost turnout. Obama and El-Sayed spoke by phone about the race after the primary.
Obama has campaigned in Michigan ahead of every federal election since leaving office. He came to Detroit before the 2018 and 2022 midterms to support Whitmer and rallied at Huntington Place on Oct. 22, 2024, for presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
