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President Barack Obama has been at the center of the Democrats’ biggest political battles, from warfighting to last year’s presidential race, while former President Joe Biden – despite winning more votes than any president in history – has remained absent from most of the party’s political battles since leaving office.
“We went through an election in Virginia where the Democrats invested heavily, and we didn’t see Joe Biden as far as I can remember,” Virginia GOP Chairman Jeff Ryer told Fox News Digital, referring to Obama’s massive Democrat-backed referendum campaign that was later struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court. “We’ve seen, on the other hand, Barack Obama in television ad after television ad, during the Democrats’ $80 million campaign, he was clearly the leader.”
Biden’s absence from several major Democratic campaigns has fueled Republican allegations that Democrats are quietly moving toward the former president.
“Joe Biden is like season nine of ‘Dallas.’ It was all a dream,” Ryer said, referring to the new CBS show “Dallas,” in which the events of Season 9 are revealed to have never happened.
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Former President Barack Obama and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico (D-TX) meet with supporters at a Taco Joint restaurant at a campaign event on May 12, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Joel Angel Juarez-Pool / Getty Images)
For many Democratic strategists, Obama’s prominent role reflects a widespread belief that he remains more popular and politically important than Biden, even a decade after leaving public office.
“I think there’s a lot of nostalgia for an Obama presidency,” Democratic strategist Andrea Riccio told Fox News Digital. “I think there’s been an excitement in his generation that other presidents haven’t had, so I understand why he’s wanted right now.”
Riccio said Democrats may still be reeling from their 2024 presidential election loss, and with the Democratic Party still lacking a clear leader, “Obama is one of the best players” the party has right now.
Earlier this week, Obama traveled to Texas to meet with Democratic Senate candidate Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico, who is campaigning against Republican Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Winning over black voters in Texas will be critical for Talarico, and strategists say Obama could play a key role in boosting voter turnout this fall.
Fox News contributor and Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov said it’s possible Talarico won’t campaign with Biden because “there’s a lot he’s missing” in politics including distancing himself from the Biden administration.
“He’s been outspoken about the mistakes made in the Biden administration, especially vis-à-vis immigration,” Tarlov said. “He wants to represent Texas. So, obviously, the border is a really big thing there.”
He added that Obama is more popular than Biden.
“I think Biden will go where people want him, and he takes a lot of, like, Nancy Pelosi’s approach, that is, ‘if you want me, I’m here. If you don’t, I totally get it,'” said Tarlov. “And Obama’s, obviously, they’re applying for those who want him, and there’s going to be a lot of candidates who don’t want Obama on the road with him.”
Former president Joe Biden addresses the crowd during a South Carolina Democratic Party fundraiser at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC, on Feb. 27, 2026. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
“But it makes a lot of sense for someone like James Talarico, especially because he’s a millennial and grew up on Obama,” Tarlov continued.
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However, Tarlov said he would have thought that California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom would have asked Biden to join the campaign for his California reopening effort.
“Gavin Newsom is one of the most public defenders of the Biden record,” Tarlov said. “So I think he would have had Biden if it was possible.”
Instead, Obama was the leading voice in re-pressing Democrats in California and Virginia, appearing in several ads aimed at rallying voter support, while Biden remained mum.
During last November’s high-profile gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, Obama spoke at a rally encouraging now-Gov. New Jersey Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Gov. Virginia Democrat Abigail Spanberger. But Biden, who had endorsed both women in their previous congressional races, was barely visible on the campaign trail.
But Democratic strategist James Carville told Fox News Digital that Biden is not as young as Obama and may not have the same level of power. Last May, Biden was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.
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Former President Barack Obama and New Jersey Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill attend a voter rally at the Essex County College gymnasium in Newark, NJ, on Nov. 1, 2025. (Fox News)
While Biden may no longer be able to lead the Democratic Party’s major initiatives, he is still involved. On May 1, he endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms in the Georgia primary, and a few days later he endorsed his former aide Dan Koh in Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District.
In April, Biden spoke at the Delaware Democratic Party’s annual dinner, and in February he spoke at the South Carolina Democratic Party’s dinner to commemorate his six-year victory in the state’s primary election, which proved key to his victory in the general election.
A Biden insider shared with Fox News Digital that more will come from the former president this election season.
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And the Republican National Committee is looking forward to Biden’s increased involvement, according to an RNC spokeswoman.
“It would be a gift to Republicans to have Joe Biden get involved in the midterms,” Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft told Fox News Digital. “We’ll happily buy him a plane ticket to every state that still skates in this country.”
