Gov. Jerry Brown has endorsed Hillary Clinton one week ahead of the California presidential primary. In an open letter to California Democrats and independents, Brown has nothing but good things to say about both Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but writes that he has “decided to cast my vote for Hillary Clinton because I believe this is the only path forward to win the presidency and stop the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump.” The Democratic primary is effectively over, Brown notes:
For her part, Hillary Clinton has convincingly made the case that she knows how to get things done and has the tenacity and skill to advance the Democratic agenda. Voters have responded by giving her approximately 3 million more votes – and hundreds more delegates – than Sanders. If Clinton were to win only 10 percent of the remaining delegates – wildly improbable – she would still exceed the number needed for the nomination. In other words, Clinton’s lead is insurmountable and Democrats have shown – by millions of votes – that they want her as their nominee.
And Donald Trump is terrifying—Brown lists climate change, deportation, and the Supreme Court as key issues at stake in November, concluding that “The general election has already begun” and “Next January, I want to be sure that it is Hillary Clinton who takes the oath of office, not Donald Trump.”
Brown’s endorsement is significant not only because he’s the popular Democratic governor of a giant state, but because he is such a successful governor in a state overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats:
California is one of the few states in the country, and easily the largest, where Democrats are completely in control, holding every statewide office as well as overwhelming majorities in the Assembly and the Senate, not to mention both United States Senate seats. Mr. Brown and his party are using that power to try to enact legislation — on guns, tobacco, the environment, the minimum wage and immigrant rights — that suggest the kind of agenda that has eluded national Democrats.
Endorsements don’t typically move many votes, but all things considered, a candidate would rather have Jerry Brown’s endorsement than not.