Michelle Obama is wading into the midterms—but not necessarily in the way Democrats had hoped. The former first lady launched a voter registration initiative Thursday, called When We All Vote. The midterm-themed effort kicked off with a public service announcement featuring her and a slew of celebrity co-chairs, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks, and Janelle Monáe. According to Politico, additional PSAs featuring other big names are expected to follow, as are a series of voter-registration and get-out-the-vote events leading up to a “late-September crescendo of rallies and trainings.” Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group is a strictly nonpartisan affair, much to Democrats’ chagrin. Michelle Obama reportedly hasn’t ruled out making separate campaign stops for a Democratic candidate or two before Election Day. But such appearances would seem doubtful at a time when her group is trying to stay above the partisan fray, and given her and her husband’s general reluctance to take center stage in the age of Trump. More likely, her GOTV efforts mean she’ll remain MIA on the midterm campaign trail. Advertisement On one hand, that’s a big loss for Democrats. Michelle Obama remains deeply popular on the left, and more popular than Barack Obama among the general population. She’s capable of uncorking a stemwinder when the situation calls for it, as she demonstrated multiple times during the 2016 campaign. She’d be natural on the stump next to a wide range of Democratic candidates, particularly many of the record number of women running for the House this year. On the other, her voter-registration effort should still be a boon to Democrats. While ostensibly aimed at registering all Americans to vote, the star-studded PSAs are clearly tailored toward young voters, a demo that skews Democratic. (“Four million Americans turn 18 this year, that’s huge,” Monáe says in the PSA. “And we need every last one of them to register and vote.”) The Obama-led effort should pair nicely with other youth-focused efforts already under way, including those by the Parkland shooting survivors, who made voter registration a major theme of their March for Our Lives demonstrations, and by Tom Steyer’s NextGen America, which has become a near-constant presence on college campuses. Advertisement Advertisement Already, those efforts appear to be working. In April, pollsters at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics found that a whopping 37 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds—and 51 percent of self-identified Democrats in that group—said they would “definitely” vote this November, a dramatic increase from the past two midterms. And a new analysis out Thursday from TargetSmart, a Democratic firm, found a small but significant jump in youth voter registration nationwide following the Parkland shooting in February, including sizable gains in some key battleground states like Florida, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. Anything that converts those trends into actual turnout on Election Day should excite Democrats, whether the effort is nonpartisan or not.<doc-sep>She's back. Former first lady Michelle Obama is teaming up with a host of celebrities to launch a new voter registration initiative ahead of the midterm elections. The new nonprofit, "When We All Vote," was announced Thursday morning and will hold events, rallies and training sessions for volunteers ahead of the November election to get more voters registered. The organization won't focus solely on ramping up Democratic support, but rather will act as a nonpartisan organization to register those of all parties and beliefs. "Voting is the only way to ensure that our values and priorities are represented in the halls of power," Michelle Obama said in a statement "And it's not enough to just vote for president every four years. We all have to vote in every single election: for mayor, governor, school board, state legislature and Congress. The leaders we elect to these offices help determine just about every aspect of our lives and our democracy." Politico first reported on the new organization. Obama will be joined by celebrities, including "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, actor Tom Hanks, Houston Rockets player Chris Paul and singers Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Janelle Monae, Politico reported. The organization, in a news release, notes that voter registration rates and votes cast in midterm elections are astonishingly low. "These numbers and the reasons behind them should alarm every American," the organization says. "No one organization can dramatically change those numbers alone. But every citizen can be part of the solution—and that's why When We All Vote is calling on Americans to take responsibility and start a conversation by asking friends, family, and those in their own communities to register." More:Chrissy Teigen, Ellen DeGeneres and other celebrities got political this July 4th More:Surge of Obama alumni running for office in wake of President Trump's election Both of the Obamas have, for the most part, stayed out of the limelight since the start of the Trump presidency. It's unclear whether the former first lady will campaign for any candidates in the midterms. Democrats hope November will mark a comeback for the party and allow them to take back a majority in one or both chambers of Congress, fueled by a large number of Republicans retiring and low approval ratings for President Donald Trump. Politico noted Michelle Obama is one of the most sought-after surrogates for Democrats but she is still figuring out whether she will make any campaign appearances. Former President Barack Obama, however, is planning to hit the road with several candidates.<doc-sep>
Michelle Obama may not want to run for president, but she’s still dipping her toe into politics as the country approaches November’s midterm elections. Unlike her husband, though, who will be hitting the campaign trail in November, she’s not rallying voters specifically to Democrats. According to a report by Politico’s Edward-Isaac Dovere, the former first lady is launching a nonpartisan voter registration initiative called When We All Vote. The initiative launched Thursday, July 19, with a public service announcement. According to people close to the campaign, there will also be live events in the coming months. It will feature “prominent activists and players” and peak in September with a number of events, rallies, and trainings. In the PSA, Obama encourages viewers to “start a conversation across America about being active participants in our most basic American responsibility: voting.” She wants viewers to do this by speaking with friends, family, and neighbors about their hopes, dreams, and desires for the future of America. She’s joined by a lineup of famous faces, including actor Tom Hanks, singer Janelle Monáe, Houston Rockets basketball player Chris Paul, and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who were featured in the YouTube video. It’s unclear what their roles in the initiative will be just yet. The board is stacked with former Obama administration personalities: Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser in the Obama administration, will serve as president of the board, and Kyle Lierman, Obama’s former senior policy adviser, will serve as CEO. But Michelle Obama will not be campaigning for any particular party or candidate. Instead, the goal of When We All Vote is to ensure that “every American casts their ballot this November.” It seems the initiative is geared toward young people, in particular the “4 million Americans who turn 18 this year,” because “it’s going to be the young people of this generation that will change the world.” Young voters — and particularly young women — are more likely to say they favor Democrats for office than older voters. Still, even though Obama’s campaign comes amid a crucial midterm election for the Democratic Party, she’s apparently decided to stay above the partisan fray.