Obama applauds Democrats’ election wins but says ‘we’ve got a lot of work to do’

Former President Barack Obama during a campaign event for Representative Mikie Sherrill, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for New Jersey, not pictured, in Newark, New Jersey, on November 1, 2025. Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Former President Barack Obama on Thursday celebrated Democrats’ sweeping victory in Tuesday’s election , but stressed that there’s more work for the party to do.

“Tuesday was nice, but we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Obama said during a live taping of the podcast “Pod Save America.”

Democrats won across the spectrum Tuesday with Zohran Mamdani elected mayor of New York City, while Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, respectively. In California, a Democrat-backed ballot measure on redistricting was