Arkansas state Sen. Joyce Elliott (D) has received a significant endorsement from a national figure.
Former President Barack Obama has endorsed Elliott as part of his “first wave” of endorsements for the 2020 election cycle. In a Medium post, Obama called the list of 118 individuals a “diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic and highly qualified Democrats.”
“Together, 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. They make me optimistic about our party’s chances in November and about our country’s future long after that,” he said.
Elliott will be running for the 2nd Congressional District seat in November against incumbent Rep. French Hill (R). He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2015, which he won in 2014 after current Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin vacated the seat. Hill has received more than 51 percent of the vote in each election since 2014, earning 51.9 percent in 2014, 58.3 percent in 2016, and 52.1 percent in 2018.
She currently represents District 31 in the Arkansas state Senate, where she has served since 2009 and her current term ends 2023. Elliott previously was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2000 and served from 2001 to 2006.
Elliott is the only Arkansas candidate Obama endorsed. He also endorsed candidates in California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Obama had a substantial number of endorsements for Texas, making 27 total endorsements, followed closely by North Carolina and Pennsylvania, with 21 endorsements each. This was followed by nine endorsements in California, eight in Ohio, six in New York and five in New Jersey.
Arkansas Money & Politics has reached out to Elliott’s campaign for comment and will update the story later.
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