State Rep. Joe Salazar won a key endorsement Friday in the Colorado attorney general’s race, announcing backing from former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“Now more than ever we need officials who will stand up for working families and the public interest against wealthy and powerful special interests,” Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said in a statement. “Joe’s record of progressive achievements in the legislature show that’s the kind of attorney general he will be.”

Salazar was Sanders’ highest-ranking supporter in Colorado during the 2016 presidential election cycle and is running a Sanders-esque campaign to become the state’s top law enforcement official.

Salazar, of Thornton, is battling former University of Colorado law school dean Phil Weiser in the Democratic primary.

2018 candidates for Colorado attorney general Who is running for Colorado attorney general in 2018?

Weiser, also a former Obama administration official, is a favorite of Colorado’s insider Democrats.

Weiser has won a number of big-name endorsements in his own right, including former Colorado Attorney General and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer and former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives Sal Pace.

Denver attorney Brad Levin, another Democrat, is currently battling in court to get on the June 26 primary ballot after the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office ruled he did not gather enough signatures to petition onto the ticket. Former prosecutor Amy Padden, another Democrat, dropped out of the race earlier this week.

18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler is the only Republican running to become Colorado attorney general, a seat current held by Republican Cynthia Coffman.