VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Freshman Congresswoman Elaine Luria announced late Sunday afternoon that she is endorsing former Vice-President Joe Biden to be the Democratic Party's nominee to run for President of the United States in 2020.
Luria represents Virginia's 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses Virginia Beach, parts of Norfolk and the Peninsula, and the Eastern Shore. She is generally considered to be a moderate.
She made the announcement in a Tweet that was posted late Sunday afternoon in which she said "I am proud to announce my support for @JoeBiden in the democratic presidential primary. A proven leader, I believe Joe is the candidate with the experience to step in on day one and get to work."
RELATED: Congresswoman Elaine Luria holds town hall, reiterates support for impeachment inquiry of President Trump
Luria is one of several women elected in 2018 with a military or intelligence background and has been very engaged with issues involving the military and veterans - policy areas also considered to be strengths of Biden's.
At least two Republicans - Scott Taylor, who she ousted in 2018, and Ben Loyola - have already announced their intentions to run against her in 2020.
Meanwhile, another Democratic candidate received an endorsement over Twitter; former candidate Julian Castro endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren.
13News Now’s political analyst, Quentin Kidd, said that’s right on time for the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.
Kidd said these endorsements are part of the process of Congress members aligning themselves on a more progressive or moderate spectrum of the Democratic party.
“You’re going to see everybody line up like that,” said Kidd.
He explained that endorsements say a lot about that individual politician's beliefs. In his video, Castro said to Warren, “we want an America where everyone counts. It’s the same vision that I see in you and your campaign.”
Luria’s focused her work on issues involving the military and veterans, which are also policy areas that are considered as Biden's strengths.
What’s different about this year, though?
Kidd predicts a good number of candidates will make it to the first Democratic primary and he expects about a half-dozen campaigns will survive to Super Tuesday.
“Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg are at least going to be standing after Super Tuesday. They’ve got the money to do it and the support to do it,” said Kidd.
In the long run, Kidd says that could hurt the Democratic candidate winning the election.
“It could damage the eventual nominee for the Democratic party if the primary process plays out really long and it ends up getting dirty,” he said.