Congresswoman and vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), announced her resignation yesterday from the DNC to endorse presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Her actions took many by surprise, especially that it came a day after Sanders decimating defeat in South Carolina.

Sanders supporters are eagerly eyeing an endorsement from their beloved icon Senator Elizabeth Warren. There is no debate that Warren's progressive views align very closely with that of the Vermont Senator, such as breaking up the big banks and raising the minimum wage. It's understandable why his supporters are flabbergasted with her unexplained and unexpected “delay” to endorse, especially with a very close race looming in Massachusetts where polls open today.

But despite conventional belief, Gabbard's endorsement is much more powerful than that of a potential Warren endorsement. Gabbard, a war veteran, singled out foreign policy as the main reason behind her support of the Senator. This endorsement could be a game changer because foreign policy is often seen as Sanders biggest weakness. Clinton speaks much more eloquently about foreign policy while Sanders finds his groove when the debate shifts to domestic policy. This gives the impression that Clinton would be a more qualified Commander-in-Chief than Sanders.

Unlike Sanders, Gabbard is an excellent speaker when it relates to foreign policy, and as a war veteran, has the credentials to back her claims. In an interview with Maddow, she slammed Clinton's foreign policy. But what caught my attention in that interview, Gabbard didn't raise any arguments that Sanders didn't make before. Gabbard mentioned Clinton's Iraq war vote, her intervention in Libya which led to the rise of ISIS in the area, her call to overthrow Assad and her support for establishing a no-fly zone in Syria. Yet Gabbard's message and delivery was much more effective and on point than that of the candidate she's supporting. It's a sad reality that many people care more about style than they care about substance. Gabbard would be the perfect surrogate to make the case why Bernie Sanders would make a better Commanders-in-Chief. She said in her op-ed:

As elections continue across the country, the American people are faced with a clear choice. We can elect a president who will lead us into more interventionist wars of regime change. Or we can elect a president who will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.

This is not to say that a Senator Warren endorsement is not important. It clearly is. But her areas of focus, such as reining in Wall Street and campaign finance reform, are already areas of strength to Bernie Sanders.

Tulsi Gabbard’s endorsement of Bernie Sanders couldn’t have come at a better time for Bernie Sanders campaign.