“I’m proud to endorse these progressive leaders for the important offices of state and district attorney,” Sanders said in a statement. “Now is the moment to fundamentally transform our racist and broken criminal justice system by ending mass incarceration, the failed war on drugs and the criminalization of poverty, and that’s exactly what they’ll do.”

The moves come two weeks before South Carolina’s primary, where black voters will cast a majority of ballots. Nearly nine out of 10 African-American adults say the criminal justice system is racially biased, according to the Pew Research Center.

"I am honored today to have the endorsement of Sen. Sanders,” Foxx said. “When I first ran four years ago on a platform that included a holistic approach to criminal justice reform, it was different than what previous prosecutors had ever attempted. Since in office, we've implemented bond and cannabis reform, we're leading the country in vacating wrongful convictions and funneling more resources toward violent crimes to keep communities safe.”

Progressives have applauded Foxx, who campaigned on transforming Cook County’s criminal justice system, for declining to prosecute numerous low-level drug offenses and embracing alternative treatment programs.

But Foxx also drew criticism when the state’s attorney’s office dropped charges against Smollett after police accused him of staging a racist and homophobic attack by alleged supporters of President Trump. The office argued the actor wasn’t a threat to the public. A special prosecutor announced new charges against Smollett just this week, which Foxx’s campaign decried as “James Comey-like timing.”

Sanders’ left-wing rival, Elizabeth Warren, has also endorsed Foxx, along with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin.

