U.S. Representative Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) endorsed Joe Biden for president on Friday.
The endorsement continues Biden’s dominance of support from Alabama’s most prominent Democrats. The former vice president received Senator Doug Jones’ support in April and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s in December.
The representative for Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District, now in her fifth term in Congress, told the Associated Press, “Joe has a special combination of vast experience, respectability and authenticity that is well-received by Republicans and Democrats and globally by our allies and foes.”
Sewell argued that President Donald Trump “has given people a license to be racist, sexist, misogynistic — out loud.”
When asked by the AP about the timing of her endorsement so close to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Sewell said, “The No. 1 threat to my district is Donald Trump. The No. 1 threat to Martin Luther King’s legacy is Donald Trump.”
Black voters make up more than 50% of the electorate in Alabama’s Democratic primary and more than 60% of the voters in Sewell’s district. According to a recent national poll, 48% of black voters in America are supporting Biden in the ongoing Democratic primary.
Sewell is the 11th member of the Congressional Black Caucus to endorse Biden, and she will campaign with him in South Carolina ahead of that state’s primary on February 29.
“My district longs for a normality and stability again, and they know Joe Biden. He is a well-worn shoe we are comfortable with and who we know will fight for our values,” Sewell added.
Alabama’s Democratic primary will be held on March 3.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
