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Obama reveals his first wave of 2020 election endorsements

Former President Barack Obama has announced a list of 118 candidates from 17 states running for federal, statewide and state legislative offices.
Credit: AP
Former U.S. President Barack Obama during a plenary session of the Gathering of Rising Leaders in the Asia Pacific, organized by the Obama Foundation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — President Barack Obama has announced the first wave of candidates that he is endorsing for the 2020 election. 

"I’m proud to endorse this diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic, and highly qualified Democrats," Obama tweeted Monday morning. 

Obama's endorsements include 118 candidates, including 51 for the U.S. House, five for the U.S. Senate and dozens in state legislative races. His first wave of endorsements includes candidates in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. 

In a Medium post, Obama said that "these candidates will help us redeem our country’s promise by sticking up for working-class people, restoring fairness and opportunity to our system, and fighting for the good of all Americans — not just those at the top.

According to a statement, Obama plans to issue another round of endorsements this fall after more states complete its primary elections. 

The 2020 endorsements include 27 Texas candidates, the most for any state. North Carolina and Pennsylvania were tied for the second-most endorsements on Obama's list with 21 from each state. 

Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he also encouraged everyone to "vote early--by mail or in person." 

During the 2018 midterm election, Obama's endorsements outperformed President Donald Trump's in head-to-head match-ups. 

Back in April, Obama endorsed his former vice president, Joe Biden, in the 2020 presidential race against Trump. 

Last week, Obama used Rep. John Lewis’ funeral on Thursday to issue a stark warning that the voting rights and equal opportunity the late civil rights icon championed are threatened heading into the 2020 election. 

RELATED: Obama, eulogizing John Lewis, says he'll be a 'founding father' of the better America to come

RELATED: FULL TEXT | Barack Obama's eulogy for Rep. John Lewis

Full list of Obama's "First Wave of 2020 Endorsements"

ARKANSAS

Joyce Elliott, U.S. House, AR-02

CALIFORNIA

Josh Harder, U.S. House, CA-10

TJ Cox, U.S. House, CA-21

Christy Smith, U.S. House, CA-25

Gil Cisneros, U.S. House, CA-39

Katie Porter, U.S. House, CA-45

Harley Rouda, U.S. House, CA-48

Mike Levin, U.S. House, CA-49

Ammar Campa-Najjar, U.S. House, CA-50

Ann Ravel, State Senate, SD-15

COLORADO

John Hickenlooper, U.S. Senate

Jason Crow, U.S. House, CO-06

ILLINOIS

Marie Newman, U.S. House, IL-03

Sean Casten, U.S. House, IL-06

Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, U.S. House, IL-13

Lauren Underwood, U.S. House, IL-14

INDIANA

Christina Hale, U.S. House, IN-05

IOWA

Theresa Greenfield, U.S. Senate

Abby Finkenauer, U.S. House, IA-01

Rita Hart, U.S. House, IA-02

Cindy Axne, U.S. House, IA-03

MAINE

Sara Gideon, U.S. Senate

NEBRASKA

Kara Eastman, U.S. House, NE-02

NEVADA

Susie Lee, U.S. House, NV-03

Steven Horsford, U.S. House, NV-04

NEW JERSEY

Amy Kennedy, U.S. House, NJ-02

Andy Kim, U.S. House, NJ-03

Josh Gottheimer, U.S. House, NJ-05

Tom Malinowski, U.S. House, NJ-07

Mikie Sherrill, U.S. House, NJ-11

NEW YORK

Jackie Gordon, U.S. House, NY-02

Max Rose, U.S. House, NY-11

Jamaal Bowman, U.S. House, NY-16

Mondaire Jones, U.S. House, NY-17

Antonio Delgado, U.S. House, NY-19

Dana Balter, U.S. House, NY-24

NORTH CAROLINA

Roy Cooper, Governor

Yvonne Lewis Holley, Lieutenant Governor

Ronnie Chatterji, Treasurer

Jessica Holmes, Commissioner of Labor

Cal Cunningham, U.S. Senate

Pat Timmons-Goodson, U.S. House, NC-08

Brian Farkas, State House, HD-09

Adam Ericson, State House, HD-20

Terence Everitt, State House, HD-35

Sydney Batch, State House, HD-37

Kimberly Hardy, State House, HD-43

Frances Jackson, State House, HD-45

Ricky Hurtado, State House, HD-63

Dan Besse, State House, HD-74

Christy Clark, State House, HD-98

Brandon Lofton, State House, HD-104

Donna Lake, State Senate, SD-07

Harper Peterson, State Senate, SD-09

Allen Wellons, State Senate, SD-11

Kirk deViere, State Senate, SD-19

Terri LeGrand, State Senate, SD-31

OHIO

Kate Schroder, U.S. House, OH-01

Desiree Tims, U.S. House, OH-10

Phil Robinson, State House, HD-06

Monique Smith, State House, HD-16

Jessica Miranda, State House, HD-28

Emilia Sykes, State House, HD-34

Amy Cox, State House, HD-43

Chris Stanley, State House, HD-59

PENNSYLVANIA

Josh Shapiro, Attorney General

Nina Ahmad, Auditor General

Joe Torsella, Treasurer

Christina Finello, U.S. House, PA-01

Susan Wild, U.S. House, PA-07

Matt Cartwright, U.S. House, PA-08

Eugene DePasquale, U.S. House, PA-10

Marlene Katz, State House, HD-29

Lissa Geiger Shulman, State House, HD-30

Brittney Rodas, State House, HD-105

Jonathan Kassa, State House, HD-151

Nancy Guenst, State House, HD-152

Anton Andrew, State House, HD-160

Deb Ciamacca, State House, HD-168

Claudette Williams, State House, HD-176

Ann Marie Mitchell, State House, HD-178

John Kane, State Senate, SD-09

Janet Diaz, State Senate, SD-13

George Scott, State Senate, SD-15

Pam Iovino, State Senate, SD-37

Julie Slomski, State Senate, SD-49

SOUTH CAROLINA

Jaime Harrison, U.S. Senate

Joe Cunningham, U.S. House, SC-01

TEXAS

Sima Ladjevardian, U.S. House, TX-02

Lizzie Fletcher, U.S. House, TX-07

Adrienne Bell, U.S. House, TX-14

Wendy Davis, U.S. House, TX-21

Sri Preston Kulkarni, U.S. House, TX-22

Gina Ortiz Jones, U.S. House, TX-23

Candace Valenzuela, U.S. House, TX-24

Colin Allred, U.S. House, TX-32

Erin Zwiener, State House, HD-45

James Talarico, State House, HD-52

Keke Williams, State House, HD-54

Angela Brewer, State House, HD-64

Sharon Hirsch, State House, HD-66

Jeff Whitfield, State House, HD-92

Joe Drago, State House, HD-96

Elizabeth Beck, State House, HD-97

Jessica González, State House, HD-104

Terry Meza, State House, HD-105

Joanna Cattanach, State House, HD-108

Brandy Chambers, State House, HD-112

Rhetta Andrews Bowers, State House, HD-113

Celina Montoya, State House, HD-121

Natali Hurtado, State House, HD-126

Gina Calanni, State House, HD-132

Ann Johnson, State House, HD-134

Jon Rosenthal, State House, HD-135

Akilah Bacy, State House, HD-138

VIRGINIA

Elaine Luria, U.S. House, VA-02

Cameron Webb, U.S. House, VA-05

Abigail Spanberger, U.S. House, VA-07

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