Sen. Bernie Sanders endorses Audia Jones for Harris County DA

Harris County district attorney candidate Audia Jones gives a speech after the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) announced its endorsement of her during a press conference Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, at Midtown office in Houston. "We stand by her today not because of her character. Because she stands with us," said Devin Branch, Right2Justice lead organizer for TOP. less Harris County district attorney candidate Audia Jones gives a speech after the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) announced its endorsement of her during a press conference Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, at Midtown office ... more Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Sen. Bernie Sanders endorses Audia Jones for Harris County DA 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday endorsed Audia Jones for Harris County District Attorney, fresh off his Democratic presidential primary win in New Hampshire.

Jones is one of four state's attorney and district attorney candidates that the longtime senator singled out for promises to reform a criminal justice system that he says discriminates against minorities.

“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.”

For subscribers: President Donald Trump endorses Wesley Hunt in Houston congressional race

Jones has vowed to support an end to felony cash bail practices in Harris County, and to stop prosecuting sex workers and people caught in possession of small amounts of illegal drugs.

She’s previously earned the endorsement of the Houston chapter of the Democrat Socialists of America and Real Justice PAC, a group co-founded by several members of Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. The Texas Organizing Project and the Houston GLBT Caucus also endorsed Jones over incumbent Kim Ogg.

"I am honored to have earned the endorsement of Senator Bernie Sanders and to join him in his continued fight for justice,” Jones said. “Sen. Sanders has been steadfast in his vision of justice, a vision that is designed to speak for all of us. I am committed to pursuing that vision of a fair, equitable and fiscally responsible legal system here in Harris County as the next District Attorney."

Ogg on Thursday questioned Sanders' knowledge of the local criminal justice system, adding that he might not be aware of her programs that give people the option to divert from jail when faced with marijuana possession, or with other low-level crimes when specifically dealing with a mental illness. And he wouldn't understand how court dockets went into disarray after Hurricane Harvey, or how gun violence is affecting Harris County, she said.

“We invite Senator Sanders to come learn about the most progressive criminal justice reforms in the South-- the ones put into place by my team and me. There’s a lot for the nation -- and the senator and the candidates he has endorsed in local races in many states -- to learn from Harris County’s progress under this district attorney.”

Sanders additionally issued endorsements for Jose Garza for Travis County district attorney, Kim Foxx for Cook County state’s attorney and Junaid Afeef for Kane County, Ill., state’s attorney.

He also supported Chesa Boudin, the current district attorney of San Francisco, in his 2019 election. Boudin's win was considered a massive victory for the "progressive prosecutors" movement, which aims to reduce incarceration and racial and class inequalities in the criminal justice system by using discretion in what types of cases to prosecute.