Kamala Harris endorses Joe Biden

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday, becoming a member of a rising group of distinguished politicians who’ve backed Biden forward of key races on March 10 and 17.

“I consider in Joe. I actually consider in him and I’ve identified him for a very long time,” Harris mentioned. “One of many issues that we want proper now, is we want a pacesetter who actually does care concerning the folks and who can due to this fact unify the folks. And I consider Joe can do this.”

Biden thanked Harris in a tweet, even mentioning his late son, who he mentioned labored intently with the senator when she was legal professional basic in California and whereas he held the identical place in Delaware.

“Kamala — You’ve spent your complete profession preventing for folk who’ve been written off and left behind — and no small a part of that alongside Beau. From our household: thanks,” Biden wrote.

The endorsement was made simply 5 days after Biden celebrated a sweeping win on Super Tuesday, taking the lead within the delegate count. And it’s a well timed one, as Biden hopes to construct upon that lead within the subsequent main day of contests Tuesday, when Democrats in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Washington, and overseas will get to pick their selection for the occasion’s nominee.

Whereas the day doesn’t have as many delegates on supply as Tremendous Tuesday’s 1,344, a major quantity — 365 — might be awarded; sufficient for Biden to choose up a commanding delegate lead, or for Sen. Bernie Sanders to bridge the 79 delegate hole that at the moment separates the 2 frontrunners.

Regardless of being one of many prime 5 candidates within the polls early within the 2020 Democratic major, Harris dropped out of the race in December amid declining poll numbers and difficulties with fundraising. Earlier than her exit, nonetheless, she had viral moment. On the first Democratic presidential debate, Harris had a tense alternate with Biden on the difficulty of faculty busing, stating {that a} invoice he sponsored in 1975, which might have restricted using federal funds for bussing meant to desegregate faculties, may have stored her from attending her elementary faculty.

“You additionally labored with [segregationist senators] to oppose busing,” Harris mentioned on the controversy stage. “And there was a bit lady in California who was a part of the second class to combine her public faculties and he or she was bussed to highschool on daily basis. And that little lady was me.”

That historical past makes Harris’s endorsement much more notable, and provides credence to narrative that it’s Biden who can greatest unify the Democratic Social gathering in its effort to defeat President Donald Trump.

Biden’s has a rising record of highly effective Democrats backing him

Along with her endorsement, Harris joins a rising group of former 2020 candidates who’ve endorsed Biden, an inventory that features Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

And Biden’s formidable group of supporters additionally consists of a lot of different key lawmakers on the native, state, and federal ranges who’ve endorsed him in latest days. In truth, dozens have endorsed Biden within the final 48 hours, together with:

• Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
• Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
• Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
• Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon
• Former Secretary of Agriculture and former Rep. Mike Espy (D-MS)
• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
• Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
• Former Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
• Arizona Home of Representatives Democratic Chief Charlene Fernandez

And it’s not simply distinguished politicians which have lined up behind Biden. Highly effective unions in Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri — all states that might be holding primaries on Tuesday — have additionally endorsed Biden.

Unite HERE! Native 24 and United Meals and Industrial Staff (UFCW) Locals 876 and 951 in Michigan; UFCW Native 1529 in Mississippi; and UFCW Locals 655, 88, and a couple of in Missouri have all thrown their help behind Biden prior to now week, in keeping with The Hill. They’re a formidable personnel that come from a variety of backgrounds — and their unions’ infrastructure may go a great distance in direction of serving to get out the vote for Biden, one thing that might be key for him in Michigan, a state by which Sanders has highly effective surrogates and that the senator is relying on as a way to come again within the delegate depend.

Sanders received a key endorsement himself this weekend: that of former presidential candidate and civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson.

“Except for Native People, African People are the people who find themselves most behind socially and economically in the USA and our wants aren’t reasonable,” Jackson mentioned in a press release Sunday. “A folks far behind can’t catch up selecting essentially the most reasonable path. Probably the most progressive social and financial path offers us the very best likelihood to catch up and Senator Bernie Sanders represents essentially the most progressive path. That’s why I select to endorse him immediately.”

Later Sunday morning, Sanders appeared on CNN’s State of the Union and mentioned Jackson’s endorsement could be “an actual enhance” in his marketing campaign.

“What Rev. Jackson understands is that we’ve to maneuver aggressively to wipe out all types of racism on this nation and we want an financial agenda that speaks to the wants of working folks, not simply the billionaire class,” Sanders mentioned.

Sanders already had the endorsements of many distinguished progressive lawmakers, together with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib — with Jackson, he might have gained an endorsement meanigful to a constituency that has voted overwhelmingly for Biden in contests to date: older black voters.

Even with Jackson’s endorsement, nonetheless, the subsequent few contests are prone to be an uphill battle for Sanders, significantly given occasion leaders seem to more and more be popping out in help of Biden. And the Biden marketing campaign has proven its capacity each on Tremendous Tuesday and in South Carolina to show last-minute endorsements to its benefit.

In South Carolina, Rep. Jim Clyburn’s (D-SC) endorsement boosted Biden’s already robust maintain in South Carolina, and he received nearly 50 percent of the votes. His decisive victory on this southern state, helped gasoline his wins on Tremendous Tuesday — and the eleventh hour endorsements of Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and O’Rourke possible additionally performed a task, significantly in Klobuchar’s Minnesota and O’Rourke’s Texas, each states by which Biden did higher than anticipated.

It’s true {that a} Clyburn endorsement carries much more weight than the endorsement of nearly some other political determine, however the quantity and breadth of Biden’s endorsements in latest days can solely assist his possibilities of robust performances all through the month of March.