In some progressive rankings, Rep. Raul Grijalva is the most progressive member of Congress. He is now endorsing Obama:
PHOENIX — Democratic U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona is endorsing Barack Obama after earlier backing John Edwards in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Grijalva cited Obama’s electability and his intention to “fundamentally change the rules of the game” in Washington, according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press in advance of a planned Tuesday conference call with reporters.
The third-term congressman, whose southern Arizona district includes Yuma and parts of Tucson, is the second prominent Arizona Democrat to endorse Obama in the immediate run-up to the state’s Feb. 5 presidential primary.
Gov. Janet Napolitano endorsed Obama on Jan. 11 after being courted by Obama and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton. Since then, Napolitano has campaigned for Obama in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.
Clinton has led Obama and Edwards in the first of two recent polls but the margin between Clinton and Obama decreased in the second.
Grijalva had endorsed Edwards on May 3, saying the former senator from North Carolina “has shown principled leadership on the way in Iraq and on economic opportunity in America.”In the statement explaining his switch to Obama, Grijalva said it “was not a repudiation of Senator Edwards, rather the understanding that Senator Barack Obama is the future.”
“The best opportunity to win in November rests with Senator Obama,” Grijalva added. “I am proud to support Senator Obama as we move forward toward the nomination. This election is not merely about moving the pieces around in Washington D.C., but to fundamentally change the rules of the game. I am proud to help Senator Obama work toward that change.”
Obama said in the statement he was proud to have Grijalva’s support and that they shared commitments on education, health care and economic policies.
A Tucson native and the son of an immigrant laborer from Mexico, Griljalva served on the Tucson Unified School District board and the Pima County Board of Supervisors before being elected to Congress in 2002.
Meanwhile, Gov. Bill Richardson is considering an endorsement this week, and it sounds like he is torn between loyalty to Teddy Kennedy, who helped him get elected to Congress, and Bill Clinton, who appointed him as Secretary of Energy and Ambassador to the UN.
