President Obama is heading west this week. As The Hill points out, “most of the places on the president’s and vice president’s schedules are safe Democratic territory, which could mean the party is now focused primarily on its voter-turnout effort.”
The presidential road trip starts on Wednesday in Portland, Ore., where Obama will headline a rally for former Gov. John Kitzhaber (D), who is running for his old job back.
Obama will be in Washington state on Thursday morning for a “backyard town hall” with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). A recent Washington poll showed Murray leading Republican challenger Dino Rossi by eight points. The event will focus on women and how they’ve been affected by the Obama administration’s agenda, according to the White House. The president will also join Murray for a rally in Seattle later that day.
On Thursday evening, he’ll be in San Francisco for a fundraiser benefiting the Democratic National Committee. Obama on Friday will be in Los Angeles for a DNC rally and a fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). The three-term incumbent had about $6.5 million banked as of Sept. 30, compared with $1.8 million for her Republican challenger, Carly Fiorina.
The president will quickly move on to Las Vegas, where he’ll appear at a rally with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Friday evening. Early voting will be under way in Nevada at that point, and Reid needs to bank votes if he’s going to overcome the challenge of Republican Sharron Angle.
Obama wraps up his swing on Saturday in Minneapolis with a rally for Mark Dayton, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor gubernatorial nominee. Polls show Dayton neck-and-neck with Republican Tom Emmer. Minnesota is one of a handful of states where Democrats could pick up the governorship.