Newsom endorses Kamala Harris for president

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Friday evening he is endorsing Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-Calif.) bid for president and will be one of the campaigns’ California co-chairs.

“I’ll be endorsing her candidacy for president. I know her well, I’ve known her for decades, not only as district attorney where she did an extraordinary job with a very progressive record, but I watched her up close as lieutenant governor, when she served as attorney general, and I have the privilege of working with her as a U.S. senator,” Newsom said on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes.”  

{mosads}“I think the American people could not do better.”

.@GavinNewsom endorses California Sen. Kamala Harris for President #inners #2020 #breaking pic.twitter.com/hmUlcsf2hd

— All In w/Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) February 16, 2019

Newsom becomes the latest high-profile politician to back Harris’s bid this week.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a former head of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), endorsed her fellow Californian on Thursday, while labor and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta endorsed Harris on Friday.{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 said.

Huerta, who co-founded the National Farmworkers Association in California, said Harris’s vision is “exactly what we should hope for from the next President of the United States.”

Lee and Huerta are also California co-chairs for Harris’ campaign.

Harris has gained the support of several other California politicians, including Reps. Ted Lieu (D) and Katie Hill (D).

Harris is running in what is expected to be the most crowded Democratic primary field in modern history, and early endorsements can prove crucial in helping a candidate outmaneuver challengers while providing them key surrogates on the campaign trail.

Harris is competing for endorsements from other CBC members like Lee, and the senator is also working to square her past as a former attorney general and federal prosecutor with her progressive appeal among a base increasingly skeptical of the justice system.

Several high-profile Democrats, including Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and more have already announced their presidential bids, with heavyweights such as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) waiting in the wings.