Obama plans major rallies in midterm-election battlegrounds

President Obama will step up his role as campaigner in chief with at least four major rallies in key battleground states during the final five weeks of the midterm election campaign, a Democratic official said Thursday.

President Obama will step up his role as campaigner in chief with at least four major rallies in key battleground states during the final five weeks of the midterm election campaign, a Democratic Party official said Thursday.

Organized through the Democratic National Committee and Organizing for America, Obama’s former campaign committee, the “Moving America Forward” rallies are part of a larger effort to encourage voters who supported the president in 2008 to turn out again this fall.

The president will make the case “that it is critical that he have strong partners and majorities in Congress if he and Democrats are to continue to move the country forward,” organizers said in a statement.

Rallies are planned for the following dates and locations:

-- Sept. 28 in Madison, Wis.

-- Oct. 10 in Philadelphia

-- Oct. 17 in Ohio

-- Oct. 22 in Las Vegas

The locations are in states that feature both competitive Senate and gubernatorial elections, as well as targeted House contests. The final rally is in the backyard of the Senate’s top Democrat, Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The four states are also “purple states,” battlegrounds that Obama carried in his 2008 election but where his approval ratings have sagged in a weak economy. Ohio in particular has been a major focus of the White House; Obama’s speech on the economy in Parma on Wednesday came during his 10th visit, more than any other state beyond the Washington Beltway except New York.

Obama is also scheduled to take part in a tele-town hall on Oct. 12 in which he is to make a direct appeal about the importance of the Nov. 2 vote.

Obama has appeared throughout the year at fund-raisers and rallies with specific candidates; it is as yet unclear whether Democrats on the ballot in the just-announced stops will appear with the president. A party official said these latest events do not preclude additional appearances with candidates.

“During the course of the fall campaign, the president will have numerous other opportunities to talk to the American people about what’s at stake in the elections, and he will participate in fund-raising and political events beyond those mentioned here – but we consider these of major importance to reach a broad audience, to inspire our voters to act and to draw contrasts with the Republicans,” the official said.

Additional rallies are planned featuring other party surrogates, including Vice President Joe Biden.

michael.memoli@latimes.com