Washington: Former Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed Joe Biden for president on Thursday, saying Biden was the person “our country desperately needs right now.”
Kerry, who served alongside Biden in the Senate for more than two decades and was the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2004, will join Biden on the campaign trail in Iowa on Friday.
“Joe will defeat Donald Trump next November,” Kerry said in a statement.
“He’s the candidate with the wisdom and standing to fix what Trump has broken, to restore our place in the world, and improve the lives of working people here at home.”
Kerry served as secretary of State during President Barack Obama’s second term. Last month, Biden received the endorsement of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who also served in the Obama administration.
Warren Slips in California to Tie With Sanders
Elizabeth Warren’s commanding lead among California Democrats has slipped and Bernie Sanders has risen enough for the leading progressives to be in a statistical tie in the biggest Super Tuesday state.
A poll conducted for the Los Angeles Times by the University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Nov. 21-27 also found that Joe Biden had lost ground while Pete Buttigieg had gained since their previous poll in September.
Sanders had 24% support to Warren’s 22%, within the poll’s 4 percentage-point margin of error. Warren had 29% in September. Biden has 14%, down 6 points from September, and Buttigieg rose 6 points to 12%.
The poll was conducted as Michael Bloomberg began advertising in California, the biggest of the states voting on March 3, the day the former New York mayor has staked his candidacy on. He polled at 8%, but with high negatives. Some 40% of Californians viewed him negatively while 15% had a positive impression.
Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.
San Francisco-based billionaire Tom Steyer was polling at 1% in his home state. - Wendy Benjaminson
