But to hear the Jealous campaign tell it, Sanders has only become more beloved, and, more influential, in Maryland since his 2016 defeat. “The polling that we’ve done shows that Bernie Sanders is the most popular political figure in Maryland, and he’s gotten more popular since the campaign,” said Kevin Harris, a campaign spokesman. “We see his endorsement today as a tremendous asset for our campaign.”

Sanders’ star power brings with it a long list of advantages for any candidate he decides to endorse. As the most popular progressive politician, and by some measures, the most popular politician in the United States, the senator has a ready-made audience and network of support that any candidate he endorses can tap into to raise money, boost their name recognition, and bolster their liberal credibility.

“I don’t really know anything about Ben Jealous, but I figure if Sanders is supporting him, then that’s something,” said Matthew Sisson, a 25-year old Maryland resident who showed up to the Silver Spring rally, and described his politics as “farther left than Democratic or liberal.”

Jealous is a long-time ally of the senator. Jealous was co-chair of Sanders’s campaign in Maryland. He was a prominent surrogate for Sanders during 2016. And his openness to policy items that read like a progressive wish list (when I asked Jealous if he would support a carbon tax, he told me he’s “not opposed” to the idea) make him the kind of candidate Sanders hopes to see run in statewide races as a way of pushing his agenda forward.

“Sounds like Maryland is ready for a political revolution,” Sanders himself said when he took the stage at Thursday’s rally to give his political blessing, calling Jealous “one of the great progressive leaders, not only in the state of Maryland, but in the United States of America.” The senator promised the crowd that “Ben is going to stand with the working people of this great state,” warning that with President Trump in office, “now, we need more than ever, at the state-wide level, a very, very different kind of leadership.”

Maryland’s Democratic primary won’t take place for nearly a year, in June 2018. The field for the governor’s race is not yet set, and it’s too early to know who will emerge as the Democratic favorite.

Maryland state senator Richard Madaleno is expected to challenge Jealous for the mantle of the progressive in the Democratic primary race. Madaleno has a well-established track record in office as a fierce critic of the state’s Republican governor. He has called for a “state-run public option” if Republicans in Congress repeal former President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law, the Affordable Care Act. Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, who said last month that he would run for governor, is viewed as a strong contender in the Democratic primary as well.