LOS ANGELES — The first lady of California endorsed Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom, announced her support for the Massachusetts senator. California’s primary is Tuesday, along with 13 other states and entities in what could be a decisive day in the Democratic primary race.
“I am proud to endorse Elizabeth Warren as the next president of the United States,” she said. “Now, more than ever, women need a champion in the White House, someone who will stand up for working moms, fight for our seats at the tables of power, protect our healthcare and reproductive choice, and lift up the underappreciated and often invisible contributions that women make daily to society. There is no person better equipped to fight for us than Elizabeth.”
Newsom noted Warren’s various pledges, such as filling half of her White House cabinet with women and transgender people and her support for abortion access.
Notably, the endorsement is missing perhaps one of the biggest players in the state’s politics: her husband.
Sources close to Gavin Newsom said he does not plan on endorsing any candidate before the Super Tuesday contests on March 3, with one individual saying, “He has nothing to gain from it.”
Latest polls from the state show Sen. Bernie Sanders maintaining a strong lead over the rest of the Democratic pack. A survey released from CNN on Friday found his support at 35%, with Warren in second at 14%.
California awards more delegates than any other state in the Democratic primary, with 494 up for grabs. A total of 1,991 pledged delegates are needed to capture the Democratic nomination at the party’s convention this summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
