Campaign

Wasserman Schultz endorses Biden

by Justine Coleman - 03/01/20 2:13 PM ET

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday after his win in South Carolina.

Wasserman Schultz announced her endorsement and published an op-ed supporting the former vice president in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. She is the fifth representative of Congress to endorse Biden from Florida.

The congresswoman will attend an organizing event in Broward County for the campaign.

“Joe has the heart to unite our country, the experience to get big things done for the American people, and the vision to move our country beyond four years of Donald Trump’s failed presidency,” she said in a statement.

Wasserman Schultz commended Biden for his work on health care, gun violence and the Great Recession in her statement.

“Joe not only has the fire inside to defeat a bully like President Donald Trump, he can best unite that diverse coalition of working families that we need at the polls to hold the U.S. House, and take a real shot at the Senate,” she wrote in her op-ed.

Biden also earned an endorsement from former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who praised his work on health care and the economy.

“I am confident that, with a proven and tested leader like Joe Biden in the White House, we can begin to heal and unite our nation, restore our democracy, and make real progress for hardworking families,” she said in a statement.

The former vice president has received endorsements from 44 congressional representatives and six endorsements from senators.

These endorsements came after Biden gained at least 35 delegates in the South Carolina primary, allowing him to get close to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has 58. Six delegates have yet to be awarded in South Carolina.

Sanders sparked an uproar among Democrats in Florida last week after he praised Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s literacy program in a “60 Minutes” interview. The Florida Democratic Party released a statement last week saying candidates “need to understand our immigrant communities’ shared stories.”