Former President Obama said in a Thanksgiving-themed message that he's grateful for a generation of new leaders this year, praising a wave of "tolerant, creative, idealistic" leaders elected to office around the country.

"I am grateful for the next generation of leaders — the young people who are tolerant, creative, idealistic and doing the work to create the world as it should be. Who understand that hope requires action," Obama tweeted Wednesday.

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Included in the tweet was a video showing the former president making a surprise appearance at a Chicago food bank, where he volunteered this week ahead of the holiday Thursday.

His tweet comes two weeks after dozens of new Democratic candidates were elected to House seats across the country, unseating GOP incumbents and helping Democrats capture a majority in the House for the first time in eight years.

Many of the Democratic candidates elected to office were endorsed personally by the former president, who campaigned across California for a number of House candidates ahead of the midterm elections.