NEWARK -- In his first campaign appearance since leaving office, former President Barack Obama told a packed ballroom in Newark on Thursday that the world will have its eyes on New Jersey come Election Day next month.
The 44th president then urged the state's voters to respond by electing Phil Murphy, the Democratic nominee for governor, to help reject the "politics of division" he said is gripping the nation.
"The world counts on America having its act together," Obama said in a 20-minute speech at the Robert Treat Hotel during a campaign rally for Murphy, who is running in the Nov. 7 race to succeed Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican. "The world looks to us for an example."
"And just as the world is looking to us, in 19 days the world is going to be looking to New Jersey," Obama continued. "In 19 days, the world is going to look to see what kind of politics we believe in."
Obama, a Democrat who left the White House in January, never mentioned his Republican successor, President Donald Trump, by name. Nor did he specifically mention any of the controversies that have marked Trump's first nine months in office.
But Obama lamented the current state of American politics, saying divisions that date "back centuries" have returned.
"We thought we put that to bed," Obama said. "That's folks looking 50 years back. This is the 21st century, not the 19th century."
Obama said electing Murphy -- who served as his administration's U.S. ambassador to Germany from 2009 to 2013 -- will not only "move New Jersey forward" but "send a message to the country and to the world."
"That we are rejecting a politics of division, we are rejecting a politics of fear, and that we are embracing a politics that says everybody counts," Obama said.
New Jersey is one of only two states with a governor's race this year, along with Virginia. And after the Murphy event, Obama sped off for Virginia to campaign with Ralph Northam, the Democratic candidate in that state, Thursday night.
Murphy's campaign said the Newark event -- open only to people who were invited or volunteered for the campaign -- drew more than 1,000 attendees.
New Jersey is a heavily Democratic state, and Trump's approval rating here sits in the 30s. Meanwhile, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll from August showed 51 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of Obama.
"Four more years!" the crowd chanted as Obama took the stage in Newark.
"I will refer you both to the Constitution as well as to Michelle Obama to explain why that will not happen," Obama told them.
Less enthused ahead of the hoopla was Murphy's Republican opponent, Kim Gaudango, Christie's lieutenant governor.
"No matter who comes in to campaign for Phil Murphy, no matter whether they're rock stars or political stars, it's not going to change the fact that Phil Murphy is completely out of touch with the people he wants to represent," Guadagno said at her own event, in Old Bridge.
Obama is the latest big-name Democrat to visit New Jersey in recent weeks to campaign for Murphy, joining former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former vice presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore.
Thursday was the first time Obama campaigned for a gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey since 2009, when he stumped for then-Gov. Jon Corzine. The Democrat lost his re-election bid to Christie that year.
Obama recalled how he turned to Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs banking executive and top Democratic fundraiser, to become German ambassador at the height of the Great Recession because Germany and Europe were "critical" to righting the global economy and he needed someone "good and credible" to represent the U.S.
"He became such a big celebrity (there)," Obama said.
The former president also recalled a visit Murphy and his wife, Tammy Murphy, made to the White House a few years ago.
"Phil said, 'I have this crazy idea that I might want to run for governor of New Jersey,'" Obama remembered. "And Michelle said,' Are you sure?''
"I wasn't surprised because I knew him and Tammy, and I knew their character," Obama added. "I knew how much they love their great state and how much they want to give back."
Murphy was joined Thursday by a parade of top Democrats -- including U.S. Reps. Donald Norcross, Frank Pallone, and Donald Payne Jr. -- who lamented Obama's absence from the Oval Office.
"We don't just miss him as Democrats," Murphy told the audience. "We miss him as Americans."
Obama implored Murphy suporters to help get out the vote, saying you "can't take this election -- or any election -- for granted."
"I don't know if y'all noticed that," he said in a sly reference to Trump's upset over Democrat Hillary Clinton last November.
Clinton will appear at a fundraiser for Murphy in Harrison on Sunday.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Matt Arco contributed to this report.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.