CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Democratic candidate for governor predicts he and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will win their respective races “with the help of good, hardworking West Virginians.”

On Monday, some 11 weeks ahead of West Virginia’s 2016 primary, Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler (D-Marshall, 02) endorsed Sanders in his run for the White House.

“I’m struck by the fact that he’s an outsider, No. 1, who has taken on the establishment,” Kessler said during an appearance Monday on MetroNews “Talkline.”

“I’ve been fighting for workers, for laborers, for the middle class, for raising the standards of living in this state for the last 20 years and my philosophies line up with his much more closely than anybody else.”

Kessler, who said he can “relate to what it’s like to take on the billionaires and millionaires while fighting for the people,” is the first of West Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates to endorse a presidential contender.

“We need to stand together, as West Virginians, and demand that our leaders work for all of us, not just the privileged few.”

As of Monday morning, neither Democrat Jim Justice, owner of The Greenbrier Resort, nor Democrat Booth Goodwin, former U.S. attorney, had publicly endorsed a presidential candidate.

Senate President Bill Cole (R-Mercer, 06), the likely Republican gubernatorial nominee, also had not announced his pick.

In the latest MetroNews West Virginia Poll, Sanders lead Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State, 57 percent to 29 percent among likely Democratic voters within the Mountain State.

“I’m surprised at the margin certainly, yes,” Kessler said of those poll numbers that were released on Monday morning. “I’m not surprised that he’s leading, because I think his message is resonating.”

In a statement, Kessler did salute the “good work Secretary Clinton has done for decades.”

After Clinton won the Nevada caucus on Saturday 52 percent to Sanders’ 47 percent, both Clinton and Sanders turned through attention to South Carolina ahead of Saturday’s Democratic primary.

The GOP caucus in Nevada is set for Tuesday with Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and Ohio governor John Kasich remaining in the Republican race.

Trump won the South Carolina primary on Saturday.

March 1 brings Super Tuesday with primaries and caucuses scheduled in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.

The West Virginia primary is Tuesday, May 10.