U.S. Rep. Anthony G. Brown (D-Md.) went out on a limb when he endorsed former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg in the Democratic presidential nominating contest early this year. Buttigieg, who had trouble attracting minority voters, was an unconventional choice for an elected official whose district has an overwhelming majority of people of color — even though both men are military veterans (Brown served in Iraq, Buttigieg in Afghanistan).
Now Buttigieg is repaying the favor.
The ex-mayor’s new leadership PAC, Win the Era, has put Brown on the list of the first 22 candidates it has endorsed in the 2020 election. Brown, who faces fellow Iraq War veteran Shelia Bryant in the June 2 Democratic primary, is favored to win a third term.
“He has been a leader in rising above the political warfare we have come to expect from Washington, focused on keeping our nation safe while working to end endless wars, boosting workforce development, and making sure we have an economy that works for everyone,” Buttigieg said in a statement.
The leadership PAC identified five criteria for endorsing candidates: generational leadership; “building belonging;” pioneering campaigns; substance and policy; and personal qualities.
Win the Era said it “will leverage the strength of its national community to support these candidates by introducing them to its members and identifying ways individuals can support these campaigns financially and through organizing efforts.”
Among those endorsed by the PAC are Democratic incumbents targeted by Republicans this year, like North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (Kansas) and Lauren Underwood (Ill.), and Democratic rising stars, like Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Richmond, Va., Mayor Levar Stoney, and North Carolina U.S. Senate nominee Cal Cunningham.