Former President Barack Obama will join the campaign trail leading up to the November midterm elections with a stop this weekend in Orange County to back seven Democratic candidates competing for House districts, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Obama made regular visits to Southern California as president, but the upcoming trip marks his first appearance of the 2018 campaign as Democrats try to seize control of the House. At a Saturday rally, Obama will be throwing his support behind seven members of his party who are running in Republican-held districts that voted for Hillary Clinton in the November 2016 election.

Democrats need to pick up 23 seats to claim the House.

Details about the schedule and locations for Obama's visit were not immediately available.

He'll join Democrats Josh Harder, who is running against Rep. Jeff Denham of Turlock; T.J. Cox, challenging Rep. David Valadao of Hanford; and Katie Hill, who faces Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale, the Times reported. The rally also will be attended by Democrats Gil Cisneros, looking to replace retiring Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton; Katie Porter, challenging Rep. Mimi Walters of Laguna Beach; Harley Rouda, who's opposing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa; and Mike Levin, who's hoping to replace retiring Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista, according to the Times.

Obama released endorsements for a wave of candidates in August and attended fundraisers for the party's national committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee since leaving office, but the Saturday rally will include his first stump speech in the run-up to November. Saturday's event is part of a "focused, strategic" lineup of fall campaign appearances, a spokeswoman told the Times.

Other possible stops include Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

During Obama's two terms in office, the Democrats party lost control of both the House and Senate and more than 1,000 legislative seats nationwide.