(Bloomberg) -- The United Farm Workers is endorsing Senator Kamala Harris, a move that could help boost the California Democrat’s struggling campaign for president.
The labor group announced the decision Saturday at the California Democratic Party’s endorsing convention in Long Beach, citing Harris’ long history working with the organization and her “bold leadership on immigrant rights.”
The endorsement comes as Harris is in single digits in the polls and as the campaign cuts spending and redeploys staff to focus on Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation nominating caucus Feb. 3.
The United Farm Workers began in Harris’ home state of California and seeks to improve conditions for farm workers, immigrant workers and Latinos. The group, founded by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Gilbert Padilla and other organizers in 1962, has an estimated 50,000 members across the U.S., though its roots are deepest in California.
The labor group’s president, Teresa Romero, cited Harris’ efforts to secure overtime pay for farm workers, her support for immigrant rights and her participation in UFW demonstrations, in an emailed statement.
COMING UP
The major Democratic candidates -- including Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg -- are scheduled to appear Sunday at the Nevada Democratic Party’s First in the West dinner, a major event that previously has drawn thousands to hear from presidential hopefuls.
Ten candidates have qualified for the fifth Democratic debate, on Nov. 20 in Atlanta: Biden, Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, Cory Booker and Tom Steyer.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Washington at jdlouhy1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, Steve Geimann
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