MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Monday endorsed Joe Biden for president, a move that comes after the first-term Democrat declined to endorse anyone in the primary and just two weeks before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.
Evers, in a statement announcing the endorsement, promised to do everything he could to get Biden elected. President Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 by fewer than 23,000 votes, making him the first Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984 to win the state. Both sides are targeting Wisconsin as one of the few swing states that could determine the election.
“It has never been more important to have steady, experienced, and empathetic leadership in the White House,” Evers said. He said Biden would lead with “kindness, respect, and compassion.”
“I know Joe is the kind of leader who will bring us together rather than finding reasons to tear us apart,” Evers said. “As president, Joe will unite our country to not only tackle this pandemic, but build back better than before.”
Evers, the former state superintendent for schools, won election in 2018 as part of a Democratic sweep of statewide offices. Biden came to Wisconsin to campaign for him and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin then.