Obama hosts fundraiser with Senate Democrats weeks before midterms

Barack Obama appeared at a Wednesday evening fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, talking with Delaware Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, the committee's vice chair, about how Democrats might take the Senate in the midterms. She told CBS News that Obama brings realism and practical optimism and underscores what is at stake in the election.

Democrats feel more hopeful as several contests have tilted their way, including Texas and Ohio, which CBS News' battleground tracker lists as toss-ups. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said last month that voters are tired of Donald Trump and of Senate Republicans who go along with him. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, so Democrats need a net gain of four seats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, maintained that his party can keep control by emphasizing its record.

Michigan is a central battleground, where Sen. Gary Peters is retiring. A CBS Detroit poll by Mitchell Research and Communications gives Democrat Abdul El-Sayed a slim edge over Republican Mike Rogers. Obama is expected to campaign there later this month, and he has recorded two dozen ads for Senate and governor hopefuls.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →