Hillary Clinton picks up NH endorsement

A co-chairman of Barack Obama’s 2008 New Hampshire campaign is endorsing Hillary Clinton for 2016. 

The endorsement by Ned Helms is a sign of Clinton’s support in the state, along with polls showing her with an early lead approaching 50 percentage points. Another Obama 2008 New Hampshire co-chair, Jim Demers, endorsed Clinton last year. 

“In 2008, I was an early supporter of President Obama, not because I was opposed to Clinton, but because I thought the time was right for what Obama had to offer,” Helms wrote in a Concord Monitor op-ed published Thursday. “And today I feel the time is right for what Clinton has to offer, and can do for our country.”

Helms repeatedly touted Clinton as a strong progressive as she faces a range of possible long-shot primary challenges from the left, with the most talked about being Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Warren has repeatedly denied that she’s running. Other potential challengers to Clinton include Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. 

“As a Democrat who cares deeply about the need for continued progressive leadership in Washington, I have for the first time made the decision to back a candidate even before that person has decided to run,” Helms wrote. “I have done that because I believe there is one Democrat who has the forward-looking progressive ideas that the country and the world need during the challenging times we will face in the coming years. That is why I am for Hillary Clinton.”

Helms pointed to Clinton’s record of opposing the Bush tax cuts, supporting a higher minimum wage, and speaking out for women’s rights in a famous speech as first lady in Beijing in 1995. 

He also referenced Clinton’s work on the unsuccessful health reform attempt during Bill Clinton’s presidency, in arguing Clinton helped lay the groundwork for ObamaCare. 

“She, like Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson, helped pave the way for the breakthrough that occurred with the passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010,” Helms wrote.