The Obama campaign this morning announced that veteran California congressman Pete Stark of the East Bay near San Francisco, will endorse him. Stark is known as a liberal Democrat and a product of the peace movement. He was first elected in 1972. His district is in western Alameda county, which voted 52% to 44% for Obama.
In a statement released by the campaign, Rep. Stark said:
Senator Barack Obama has captured the imagination of Americans in a way we've not seen for decades. He's inspired millions of young people to register to vote and join the ranks of our Democratic Party, he's consistently opposed the war, he advocates universal health care, and he delivers a message that transcends party politics at the same time.
I have the greatest respect for Senator Clinton and for her many years of service, but I believe the time has come to unify our party. The outcome we need in November is a Democratic President. To achieve that, we must turn our focus squarely on Senator McCain and his quest to continue another four years of the failed Bush agenda.
Adding Stark's superdelegate vote to the most recent AP tally, Obama now has 1,899 delegates, compared to 1,718 for Clinton, with 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination.
