Nevada’s lone black congressman backs Biden before caucuses

By MICHELLE L. PRICE

LAS VEGAS (AP) — U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, the only black member of Nevada’s congressional delegation, is endorsing Joe Biden for president on the eve of early voting in the state’s caucuses.

The Democrat said in a statement shared with The Associated Press on Friday that the former vice president “is ready to do the job of president on day one” and said “Joe knows Nevada.”

Horsford, who previously ran a job training program associated with the politically powerful Culinary Union, said Biden has worked side by side with labor. He also cited Biden’s work to pass the Affordable Care Act.

Horsford, who was elected to his southern Nevada seat in 2018 and previously held the seat for one term ending in 2015, joins one other member of Nevada’s Democratic congressional delegation in making an endorsement.

Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat who represents Las Vegas, backed Biden in November.

Most of Nevada’s high-profile politicians, including former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, have refrained from making an endorsement in the crowded Democratic presidential field.

Horsford is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the first African American majority leader of the Nevada Senate from 2009 to 2013.

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