Obama plans fundraising tour for Democrats

House and Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2014 will get a boost from their party's most recognizable face when President Barack Obama returns to the campaign trail in 2013.

Democratic Party officials confirmed Thursday that the president would hold 14 fundraising events this year for Congressional Democrats, details that appeared first in the New York Times.

The officials confirmed the Times' report that Obama would appear at 10 events for candidates outside of Washington -- five each for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Each committee will also host an event featuring the president in D.C., and Obama will attend two joint galas for Democratic candidates.

The news of Obama's upcoming fundraising efforts for Democrats comes as Congress prepares for major legislation on a wide range of issues, from gun control measures to comprehensive immigration reform. Obama vowed to tackle those issues and more during his inaugural address in January, and will rely on House and Senate Democrats to help shepherd them through Congress.

The president spoke to House and Senate Democrats at their respective retreats this week, where lawmakers were huddling ahead of the busy legislative months to come.

In the 2014 midterm elections, Democrats will again seek to regain the House majority they lost in 2010. Republicans currently hold a 232-200 majority in the lower chamber. Three seats are vacant. In the Senate, Democrats will be defending 21 of the 35 seats up for grabs in 2014.

Since losing the House majority to the GOP in 2010, some Democrats have been left disappointed on issues where Obama struck a deal with Republican leaders, such as the deal to avert a government shutdown in 2011 and the agreement avoiding the fiscal cliff at the beginning of the year.

Both Republicans and Democrats have also grumbled about the president's seeming unwillingness to work with rank and file members, choosing instead to deal primarily with the House and Senate leadership, and often delegating negotiations to Biden or top aides.

The president is the Democratic Party's biggest draw, and raised a record amount of money during his 2012 bid for re-election.