WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has endorsed fellow Democrat Muriel Bowser’s bid for District of Columbia mayor.
Bowser’s campaign released a statement from the president on Monday. Obama says he’s “proud” to endorse Bowser, calling her “a champion for working and middle-class families, and a passionate proponent of Washington, D.C.”
Bowser is a D.C. councilmember. She defeated Mayor Vincent Gray in the April Democratic primary. Her challengers in November include two well-known independents, Councilmember David Catania and former councilmember Carol Schwartz.
The Democratic nominee has won every mayoral election in 40 years of District of Columbia self-rule. However, polls suggest the race between Bowser and Catania could be the closest since 1994, when Marion Barry defeated Schwartz by 14 percentage points.
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