Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris endorsed Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed in the Montgomery mayor’s race on Friday.

The move, an unusual one for a national figure in a local race, could signal the U.S. senator’s interest in securing the endorsement of the Alabama Democratic Conference ahead of next March’s primary in Alabama.

“It’s time for a new generation of leadership in Montgomery, one that is focused on inclusion, economic growth and improving public education,” Harris said in a tweet on her campaign account Friday morning.

Reed, who finished first in Tuesday's election, faces television station owner David Woods in a runoff in October. In a statement, Reed said he was "humbled" by the endorsement and said he looked forward to working with other candidates to improve opportunities in Montgomery and "create a future that is brighter than our past."

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"As a former district attorney and attorney general for the state of California, she understands the challenges of keeping our city safe, as well as some of the opportunities for bringing about criminal justice reform," Reed said in the statement.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Woods campaign on Friday.

Reed is the son of Alabama Democratic Conference (ADC) chair Joe Reed, a longtime power broker in the Alabama Democratic Party. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought the ADC’s endorsement in 2008 and 2016. Other state and federal candidates have asked for the group’s blessing in Democratic primaries in the state.

Harris, a former California attorney general elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, spoke to the ADC in Montgomery last June as part of a campaign swing through Alabama. She touched on a broad array of issues, from equitable pay to gun violence to improving economic outcomes for working class people.

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Updated at 11: 51 a.m. with response from Reed campaign.