WASHINGTON D.C., DC — President Barack Obama has announced the first wave of candidates that he is endorsing for the 2020 election.
"I’m proud to endorse this diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic, and highly qualified Democrats," Obama tweeted Monday morning.
Obama's endorsements include 118 candidates, including 51 for the U.S. House, five for the U.S. Senate and dozens in state legislative races. His first wave of endorsements includes candidates in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
In a Medium post, Obama said that "these candidates will help us redeem our country’s promise by sticking up for working-class people, restoring fairness and opportunity to our system, and fighting for the good of all Americans — not just those at the top.
According to a statement, Obama plans to issue another round of endorsements this fall after more states complete its primary elections.
The 2020 endorsements include 27 Texas candidates, the most for any state. North Carolina and Pennsylvania were tied for the second-most endorsements on Obama's list with 21 from each state.
Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he also encouraged everyone to "vote early--by mail or in person."
During the 2018 midterm election, Obama's endorsements outperformed President Donald Trump's in head-to-head match-ups.
Back in April, Obama endorsed his former vice president, Joe Biden, in the 2020 presidential race against Trump.
Last week, Obama used Rep. John Lewis’ funeral on Thursday to issue a stark warning that the voting rights and equal opportunity the late civil rights icon championed are threatened heading into the 2020 election.
RELATED: Obama, eulogizing John Lewis, says he'll be a 'founding father' of the better America to come
Full list of Obama's "First Wave of 2020 Endorsements"
ARKANSAS
Joyce Elliott, U.S. House, AR-02
CALIFORNIA
Josh Harder, U.S. House, CA-10
TJ Cox, U.S. House, CA-21
Christy Smith, U.S. House, CA-25
Gil Cisneros, U.S. House, CA-39
Katie Porter, U.S. House, CA-45
Harley Rouda, U.S. House, CA-48
Mike Levin, U.S. House, CA-49
Ammar Campa-Najjar, U.S. House, CA-50
Ann Ravel, State Senate, SD-15
COLORADO
John Hickenlooper, U.S. Senate
Jason Crow, U.S. House, CO-06
ILLINOIS
Marie Newman, U.S. House, IL-03
Sean Casten, U.S. House, IL-06
Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, U.S. House, IL-13
Lauren Underwood, U.S. House, IL-14
INDIANA
Christina Hale, U.S. House, IN-05
IOWA
Theresa Greenfield, U.S. Senate
Abby Finkenauer, U.S. House, IA-01
Rita Hart, U.S. House, IA-02
Cindy Axne, U.S. House, IA-03
MAINE
Sara Gideon, U.S. Senate
NEBRASKA
Kara Eastman, U.S. House, NE-02
NEVADA
Susie Lee, U.S. House, NV-03
Steven Horsford, U.S. House, NV-04
NEW JERSEY
Amy Kennedy, U.S. House, NJ-02
Andy Kim, U.S. House, NJ-03
Josh Gottheimer, U.S. House, NJ-05
Tom Malinowski, U.S. House, NJ-07
Mikie Sherrill, U.S. House, NJ-11
NEW YORK
Jackie Gordon, U.S. House, NY-02
Max Rose, U.S. House, NY-11
Jamaal Bowman, U.S. House, NY-16
Mondaire Jones, U.S. House, NY-17
Antonio Delgado, U.S. House, NY-19
Dana Balter, U.S. House, NY-24
NORTH CAROLINA
Roy Cooper, Governor
Yvonne Lewis Holley, Lieutenant Governor
Ronnie Chatterji, Treasurer
Jessica Holmes, Commissioner of Labor
Cal Cunningham, U.S. Senate
Pat Timmons-Goodson, U.S. House, NC-08
Brian Farkas, State House, HD-09
Adam Ericson, State House, HD-20
Terence Everitt, State House, HD-35
Sydney Batch, State House, HD-37
Kimberly Hardy, State House, HD-43
Frances Jackson, State House, HD-45
Ricky Hurtado, State House, HD-63
Dan Besse, State House, HD-74
Christy Clark, State House, HD-98
Brandon Lofton, State House, HD-104
Donna Lake, State Senate, SD-07
Harper Peterson, State Senate, SD-09
Allen Wellons, State Senate, SD-11
Kirk deViere, State Senate, SD-19
Terri LeGrand, State Senate, SD-31
OHIO
Kate Schroder, U.S. House, OH-01
Desiree Tims, U.S. House, OH-10
Phil Robinson, State House, HD-06
Monique Smith, State House, HD-16
Jessica Miranda, State House, HD-28
Emilia Sykes, State House, HD-34
Amy Cox, State House, HD-43
Chris Stanley, State House, HD-59
PENNSYLVANIA
Josh Shapiro, Attorney General
Nina Ahmad, Auditor General
Joe Torsella, Treasurer
Christina Finello, U.S. House, PA-01
Susan Wild, U.S. House, PA-07
Matt Cartwright, U.S. House, PA-08
Eugene DePasquale, U.S. House, PA-10
Marlene Katz, State House, HD-29
Lissa Geiger Shulman, State House, HD-30
Brittney Rodas, State House, HD-105
Jonathan Kassa, State House, HD-151
Nancy Guenst, State House, HD-152
Anton Andrew, State House, HD-160
Deb Ciamacca, State House, HD-168
Claudette Williams, State House, HD-176
Ann Marie Mitchell, State House, HD-178
John Kane, State Senate, SD-09
Janet Diaz, State Senate, SD-13
George Scott, State Senate, SD-15
Pam Iovino, State Senate, SD-37
Julie Slomski, State Senate, SD-49
SOUTH CAROLINA
Jaime Harrison, U.S. Senate
Joe Cunningham, U.S. House, SC-01
TEXAS
Sima Ladjevardian, U.S. House, TX-02
Lizzie Fletcher, U.S. House, TX-07
Adrienne Bell, U.S. House, TX-14
Wendy Davis, U.S. House, TX-21
Sri Preston Kulkarni, U.S. House, TX-22
Gina Ortiz Jones, U.S. House, TX-23
Candace Valenzuela, U.S. House, TX-24
Colin Allred, U.S. House, TX-32
Erin Zwiener, State House, HD-45
James Talarico, State House, HD-52
Keke Williams, State House, HD-54
Angela Brewer, State House, HD-64
Sharon Hirsch, State House, HD-66
Jeff Whitfield, State House, HD-92
Joe Drago, State House, HD-96
Elizabeth Beck, State House, HD-97
Jessica González, State House, HD-104
Terry Meza, State House, HD-105
Joanna Cattanach, State House, HD-108
Brandy Chambers, State House, HD-112
Rhetta Andrews Bowers, State House, HD-113
Celina Montoya, State House, HD-121
Natali Hurtado, State House, HD-126
Gina Calanni, State House, HD-132
Ann Johnson, State House, HD-134
Jon Rosenthal, State House, HD-135
Akilah Bacy, State House, HD-138
VIRGINIA
Elaine Luria, U.S. House, VA-02
Cameron Webb, U.S. House, VA-05
Abigail Spanberger, U.S. House, VA-07
