Barbara Lee endorses Kamala Harris’s 2020 bid

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) on Thursday endorsed Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) for president, saying that Harris will be a “president truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.” 

“As just the third African American woman from a major party to run for President, I am so proud to endorse her candidacy as she continues this fight for equality, fairness, and dignity for all Americans,” the former head of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) said in a statement.

{mosads}”Watching Kamala’s career in the East Bay and San Francisco for 20 years, I’ve witnessed her deep passion for justice and opportunity, and I know she will be a president truly of the people, by the people, and for the people,” Lee added. 

With the endorsement, Lee became the first member of the CBC to pick a side in the 2020 race, according to CNN.

Members of the CBC have previously said they are torn between supporting Harris or Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), another black candidate in the race. 

Harris and Booker are among a crowded field of Democratic candidates that includes three of their colleagues in the Senate: Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.).

Lee added in her endorsement Thursday that Harris would “restore dignity and responsibility to the Oval Office.”

“She will increase working Americans’ incomes, expand health insurance to more Americans, and restore dignity and responsibility to the Oval Office,” Lee said. “She is a leader uniquely qualified to bring us together and mobilize a movement of Americans to return power to the people.”