AMANDA EDWARDS ENDORSES ROYCE WEST

Endorsement Caps Off Three-Week Period That Includes Endorsements from Major Unions, Congressional Black Caucus PAC

HOUSTON, Texas–On Friday, the Royce West for U.S. Senate campaign announced that former at-large Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, who placed fifth in the March 3 runoff earning more than 189,000 votes and more than ten percent of all votes cast, has endorsed Senator West in anticipation of the July 14 runoff.

Edwards issued the following statement announcing her endorsement:

The race for United States Senate this year is an important one that will shape the future of our state, and the Senate itself, for years to come.

Today, I am proud to announce that I support Royce West for U.S. Senate in the July 14 runoff election.

I support Senator West because of his strong Democratic values, and his focus on addressing the issues I care about that impact the lives of Texans and people nationwide.

Throughout the course of my campaign, I said this race was about people, and what matters most to us, not politics. I said this race was about healthcare, about providing our communities real leadership, and about finding reforms to ensure previously marginalized voices find their way to the forefront.

I am endorsing Royce West because I believe he will bring about the change we need when it comes to healthcare, climate change, education, criminal justice reform, and many issues I championed as a candidate in this race.

When it comes to the issues that I and so many others care about, Royce West has the determination to get things done in Washington, which is why I’m proud to endorse Royce West.
Senator West said he was honored to receive Edwards’ endorsement. “Amanda and young leaders like her who are willing to take a stand for what they believe are the future of the Democratic Party in Texas, and I am honored to have her endorsement and support as we head toward the July runoff,” West said.

West’s campaign team noted Edwards’ endorsement brings the total of former contenders in the March 3 primary endorsing the Dallas state senator to 6: Jolt founder and former Worker’s Defense Project Executive Director Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, former Houston City Councilman and Congressman Chris Bell, Co-Chair of the Texas Poor People’s Campaign Sema Hernandez, and Beaumont NAACP leader and pastor Michael Cooper.

The candidates currently endorsing West represent 826,398 votes from the March 3 primary, said West Communications Director Vince Leibowitz.

“The support that has coalesced around Senator West represents more than one million total votes from the March 3 primary, when considered with the Senator’s vote total,” Leibowitz said. “A wide variety of distinguished Democrats from that field, as well as many others, have stepped up to endorse the Senator in recent weeks,” Leibowitz continued.

Those groups include the Communication Workers of America, representing more than 64,000 people in Texas, the American Federation of Teachers, The Black Women’s PAC of Texas, and Democracy for America.

Additionally, Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, the first African American female elected to the United States Senate, Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond, and Fort Worth City Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray have all endorsed the Senator in recent weeks, Leibowitz noted.

He also said another major announcement was forthcoming, noting the West Campaign was also notified this week that a formal endorsement announcement would be coming soon from the Congressional Black Caucus PAC. A date has not yet been set for the formal release of the announcement.