President Obama endorses more than 100 candidates ahead of the November election

As political races across the country enter their final stretch before the Nov. 3 election, former President Obama has announced his endorsement of more than 100 candidates on ballots this fall. 

The list released Monday is made up nearly 120 candidates, running at all levels of government offices, across 17 states. 

The list includes 10 alumni of the former president's administration and campaign.

Some of the key goals Obama hopes to advance with his selections include securing control of the Republican-led Senate, maintaining control of the Democrat-led House, and supporting Democrats who advocate for "fair redistricting in 2021," according to a statement by the former president's office. 

"This fall is the last opportunity for voters to decide who will have a seat at the table when new maps are drawn in 2021 – maps that will be in place for the next decade," continued the statement. 

The largely census took place earlier this year, and as the Census Bureau spends the next few months calculating the results, various entities and organizations will propose how new congressional districts should be drawn. 

Some of the candidates endorsed Obama include Wendy Davis, a Democrat running for Congress in Texas. She made headlines in 2013 for holding a 13-hour filibuster to prevent an abortion regulation bill from passing the Texas state senate. The bill ultimately passed and Davis unsuccessfully ran for governor against Gregg Abbott. 

In New York, Obama offered his endorsement to Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman, both of whom won their congressional primaries as progressive candidates in formerly center-left districts. Jones will be running for Nita Lowey's seat in the lower Hudson Valley. Bowman in a party primary defeated Democrat Rep. Eliot Engel and is expected to win in November in the Democratic-leaning district. 

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is running against Republican incumbent Cory Gardner for his Senate seat, also earned an endorsement. As did, Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Both Republicans are considered vulnerable. 

Each candidate on today's list has already won his or her respective primary. The former president plans to issue a second-round of endorsements following the conclusion of primary battles across the country this fall. 

In April, following an unexpected turnaround for Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primary, the former president endorsed his friend and former vice president to run the White House.