Barack Obama Releases Final List Of Candidates He’s Endorsing In 2020
Former president Barack Obama released his second and final list of candidates he’s endorsing for the 2020 election, and his list includes an unexpected endorsement in a primary race that hasn’t yet been decided, CNBC News reported.
The 44th president’s fellow Democrats already hold a safe majority in the House of Representatives, and in addition to potentially reclaiming the White House, they stand a good chance at flipping the Senate as well. To that end, Obama has endorsed seven Democrats running for seats in the Senate and 29 running for House spots. Outside of national offices, he’s endorsed dozens of candidates for statewide races.
All told, his list released Friday includes 111 names.
Among those names are Mark Kelly in Arizona, MJ Hegar in Texas, Adrian Perkins in Louisiana, and Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Ralph Warnock in Georgia, all of whom are challenging Republican incumbents for the U.S. Senate. He also endorsed Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Gary Peters of Michigan, both Democratic incumbents facing off against Republican challengers.
In what was seen as a notable endorsement, he stepped into a primary race with his endorsement of Warnock in Georgia. The pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King also served, is currently leading a pack of Democrats competing in an open primary.
One Democrat who did not get Obama’s endorsement is Barbara Bollier of Kansas, who is running for the open U.S. Senate seat against Republican Rep. Roger Marshall. Until 2018, Bollier sided with the Republicans, and in 2020 is trying to appeal to moderates in The Sunflower State.
According to The Kansas City Star, Obama’s endorsement would likely mean little, as the state is so reliably conservative that no Democrat was won its electoral votes since 1964.
Though the Senate race in that state is closer than expected, Bollier’s opponent is still favored.
In a statement, Obama said that he hopes that the candidates he has endorsed will turn things around in this country.
“I’m proud to endorse these outstanding Democratic candidates who will work to get the virus under control, rebuild the economy and the middle class, and protect Americans’ health care and preexisting conditions protections from Republican assault,” he said.
This is the second round of endorsements to come from Obama. In April, as reported at the time by The Inquisitr, the former president gave what would likely be his biggest and most important endorsement, putting his support behind his former vice president, Joe Biden.
