Progressive Caucus co-chairwoman endorses Biden

Progressive Caucus co-chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wa.) on Monday endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president, showing further unification of the Democratic Party ahead of the general election.

“While I have not always agreed with Vice President Biden on matters of policy, I am ready to work with him to craft and then implement the most progressive agenda of any candidate in history,” Jayapal, who was a vocal supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) campaign, said in a statement. 

“Our progressive movement of people organizing in the streets and in the halls of Congress has only grown bigger and more diverse, and we have made enormous strides towards racial, gender, and economic justice,” she continued. “We are ready for a President who will encourage us to be as big as we can be, with compassion and bold leadership.”

“That President must be Joe Biden, and I will do everything I can to help him win back the White House, take back the Senate, and preserve our House Majority,” she said. 

Jayapal’s endorsement comes one week after the caucus’s other co-chairman, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) threw his support behind Biden. 

Pocan, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who endorsed Biden last week, served as co-chairmen of Sanders’s campaign. 

Sanders endorsed Biden earlier this month at a virtual event, pledging to do everything in his power to help Biden defeat Trump in November. 

The unification of progressives and moderates has happened earlier in 2020 than it did it in 2016, when Sanders did not endorse the 2016 Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, until roughly two weeks before the party’s July convention.

Biden has received a number of endorsements from Democrats of all stripes in recent days, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday.