Biden endorsed by former Connecticut senator, 51 Massachusetts leaders

Former Vice President Joe Biden has received endorsements from former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and 51 Massachusetts leaders for his 2020 White House bid, Biden’s campaign announced Friday.

Dodd, who represented Connecticut in the Senate for three decades, touted his former colleague as a “talented legislator” and “skilled statesman” who is “admired and respected by his Senate colleagues, world leaders, and the American people.”

“Because I know him, because I have worked alongside him, because I believe in his demonstrated leadership, his ability to attract talented people to his cause, and because I deeply believe he can win the support of all Americans from all sectors of our country and defeat Donald Trump, I am supporting my good friend, Joe Biden, for President of the United States,” Dodd said in a statement released by Biden’s campaign.{mosads}

In addition to Dodd’s endorsement, the campaign said in a separate announcement Friday that 51 current and former elected officials on different levels of government across Massachusetts are backing Biden in the primary.

One of Biden’s leading opponents in the primary, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, represents Massachusetts in the Senate, and the new round of announced endorsements comes on the heels of the latest Democratic primary debate held Tuesday night in Ohio.

The 51 new Massachusetts endorsements add to Biden’s backing from Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), who has represented Boston and its southern suburbs for nearly two decades. Lynch supported Biden since he launched his campaign earlier this year, the campaign said. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), another top candidate in the race, also received the backing of at least one high-profile progressive House Democrat following the debate Tuesday.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) announced her support for Sanders following the debate, while saying that fellow progressive freshman Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) are “on board too.”