Initially, he is backing Democratic challengers running for the Senate against Republican incumbents in five states: Colorado, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Mr. Obama, whom the Republican Party found great success vilifying in down-ballot races during his presidency, is not so far endorsing Senate candidates in some more conservative states, including Montana, Kentucky, Georgia and Texas, where it is less clear his support would help statewide.
But he is endorsing a full 27 candidates in Texas, including 19 for the state House, where the Democrats need to win nine seats to take control of the lower chamber, giving the party a political foothold before districts are redrawn after the 2020 census.
That has been a top priority for Mr. Obama, who has consistently backed candidates whom the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, led by his former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr., has labeled important to the redistricting process.
Mr. Obama’s endorsements include five candidates for the State Senate in Pennsylvania and nine for the State House; six for the State House in Ohio; and 10 for the State House in North Carolina and five for the State Senate. The only governor in Mr. Obama’s initial endorsement list is Roy Cooper of North Carolina, a top presidential battleground where Mr. Obama is also supporting three other statewide officials.
For the House, Mr. Obama is supporting an ideological range of new Democratic candidates and incumbents, including many who first won their seats in 2018, such as Representatives Katie Porter of California, Lauren Underwood of Illinois, Abby Finkenauer of Iowa, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Antonio Delgado of New York and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.
Among candidates seeking Republican-held seats, Mr. Obama is supporting Amy Kennedy in New Jersey, who is seeking to unseat Representative Jeff Van Drew, who flipped parties to become a Republican; Jackie Gordon of New York, who is vying to replace the retiring Representative Peter King; and Wendy Davis, the Texas Democrat who previously ran for governor and is running against Representative Chip Roy this year.
