A civil rights icon is tossing his support behind former Vice President Joe Biden (D) as the former vice president continues to garner endorsements.
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) praised Biden as a “dear friend” and “a man of courage, a man with a great conscience, a man of faith” during a call with reporters in announcing his endorsement.
“He will be a great president,” Lewis said. “He will lead our country to a better place. He would inspire another generation to stand up, to speak up and to speak out, to be brave and to be bold.”
In a message to young voters, Lewis said, “Look around. We have a choice. We must decide. Get out there and vote like we’ve never ever voted before.”
“The vote is the most powerful non-violent instrument or tool that we have in a democratic society and we must use it,” he added. The Democratic lawmaker continued:
“I gave a little blood on that bridge, almost died. And I would say to young people that it’s my hope that you will not be beaten or arrested or jailed. Let’s go out and vote and help elect a man of conscience, a man who would look out for each and every one of us and help build a society where no one would be left out or left behind because of their race or their color of their skin or their gender.”
In response to the endorsement, Biden tweeted, “I’m honored to call him a friend — and grateful to have him by my side in this battle for the soul of our nation.”
Congressman John Lewis is a moral giant who has spent his entire life pushing our nation to live up to our highest ideals. I'm honored to call him a friend — and grateful to have him by my side in this battle for the soul of our nation. pic.twitter.com/kqwe6CGre1
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 7, 2020
Additionally, Lewis — the 38th member of the Congressional Black Caucus to endorse the former vice president — called on Biden to choose a woman as his vice presidential pick.
“It would be good to have a woman look like the rest of America — smart, gifted, a fighter, a warrior,” he said. “And we have plenty of able women, some of black, white, Latino, Asian American, Native American.”
Lewis added, “I think the time has long past of making the White House look like the whole of America.”
The Georgia Democrat is not the only one urging Biden to do this, as Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C) previously endorsed Biden and also encouraged him to consider an African American woman as his running mate, as IJR previously reported.
Biden is vying to become the Democratic nominee in hopes of taking on President Donald Trump in November. He currently has 1,217 delegates out of the 1,991 needed to win the nomination, compared to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who has 914 delegates — ahead of Tuesday’s primary election in Wisconsin.
