Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pauses while speaking at a climate rally with the Sunrise Movement at The Graduate Hotel, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) The Associated Press

Bernie Sanders has won a coveted union endorsement in New Hampshire as he faces the challenge of earning a repeat victory in the 2020 New Hampshire presidential primary.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Bernie Sanders has won a coveted union endorsement in New Hampshire as he faces the challenge of earning a repeat victory in the 2020 New Hampshire presidential primary.

The Vermont senator’s presidential campaign announced Sunday that SEA/SEIU Local 1984 is endorsing Sanders once again, after earlier throwing support behind the lawmaker when he ran for president during the 2016 cycle. The organization bills itself as the state’s “second largest union with over 10,000 public and private sector members.”

After winning a 22-point blowout victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 New Hampshire primary, Sanders is facing a more crowded field in his quest for the 2020 Democratic nomination with New Hampshire’s primary looming on Feb. 11. Other major 2020 contenders in New Hampshire including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg also publicly courted SEA/SEIU Local 1984 members for support at candidate town halls last year.

Sanders also held a town hall with the union and publicly supported the state employees association during a stop on his “End Corporate Greed” tour of New Hampshire in late December.

“For decades, Senator Sanders has represented the interests of workers all across this country, and during these past few months, he has taken the time to support SEA/SEIU Local 1984 specifically,” SEA/SEIU Local 1984 President Rich Gulla said in a statement provided by the Sanders campaign.

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