Clintons Make Last-Minute Midterm Pitch as Democratic Party Shifts

The Democratic Party has changed considerably since Bill Clinton occupied the White House and Hillary Clinton served as first lady. Still, the two veteran Democrats are stepping back into the spotlight to help the party’s candidates in the final stretch before the midterms.

Bill Clinton is heading to Florida to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly, while Hillary Clinton is launching a new podcast series centered on the election.

Their return comes as Democrats debate the party’s direction. Progressive and Democratic Socialist-backed candidates have defeated establishment-supported rivals in primaries across several states, raising fresh questions about the influence of the party’s older leadership.

Democratic strategist Kevin Walling told Fox News that Bill Clinton remains a skilled communicator, especially with working-class voters. But he said Democrats are not looking for a “Clinton restoration.”

“They’re looking for a path back to winning,” Walling said, suggesting experienced party figures can play a role without dictating what comes next.

Strategist Mally Smith was less emphatic, describing the Clintons’ remaining appeal as strongest among committed Democrats and voters who follow politics closely.

The Clintons are part of a broader effort to deploy prominent Democrats in the closing weeks of the campaign. Former President Barack Obama and other party figures are also appearing alongside candidates seeking to boost turnout.

Bill Clinton is scheduled to join Jolly at an interfaith event in Hollywood, Florida, on October 20. It will be Clinton’s first public campaign appearance of the 2026 election cycle, just two weeks before Election Day.

The event is set to coincide with the start of early voting in parts of Florida. Jolly is challenging Republican Rep. Byron Donalds for the governor’s office, which Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis cannot seek again because of term limits.

Jolly once served in Congress as a Republican but left the party during President Donald Trump’s first term. He later became a Democrat and won his new party’s gubernatorial nomination in August.

His campaign has centered on affordability, with proposals to lower property insurance costs, expand Medicaid, increase public-school funding and protect abortion rights.

Clinton’s decision to campaign for Jolly brings one of the Democratic Party’s most familiar figures into a state where Democrats have struggled to win statewide office. No Democrat has won Florida’s governorship since Lawton Chiles secured reelection in 1994. Jolly is seeking to end a Republican streak that has lasted more than three decades.

Republicans are also drawing national figures into the race. Vice President JD Vance recently campaigned in Lakeland for Donalds and Republican Sen. Ashley Moody.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is expected to campaign with Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon. Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy and Ruben Gallego have also appeared with her.

Bill Clinton has continued to participate in Democratic politics since leaving the White House in 2001, though his campaign schedule has varied. He made several late appearances during the 2022 midterms and became more active in 2024, traveling on behalf of then-Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic candidates.

Hillary Clinton is expanding her campaign-season presence through public appearances and a six-week podcast project with journalist Kara Swisher. The series focuses largely on the midterms.

Titled “High Stakes,” the project debuted October 14. New episodes are scheduled to come out weekly through mid-November as part of Swisher’s existing New York magazine podcast.

The first episode covered rising grocery, gasoline and health-care costs, Elon Musk’s political spending, Democratic messaging on affordability, and Senate races in Michigan and Maine.

“I don’t think the stakes for our country and the world have ever been higher than they are in November,” Clinton said while announcing the project.

The former secretary of state has also resumed in-person campaigning. Last weekend, she traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, for a fundraiser supporting Democratic candidates Lynne Walz and Denise Powell.

At the event, Clinton addressed voter frustration and invoked major national events, including the September 11 terrorist attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID pandemic and her 2016 presidential defeat.