WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren will endorse Mondaire Jones in the heated Democratic primary for New York’s 17th Congressional district, her campaign told BuzzFeed News.

Jones is a candidate in New York’s June 23 Democratic primary to replace Rep. Nita Lowey. He’s running on a progressive platform in an effort to become the first-ever openly gay black member of Congress. Jones is not accepting any corporate dollars, nor is he taking money from a super PAC.

“Mondaire Jones knows that we’re in a fight to put power in the hands of working families," Warren said. "With Mondaire in Congress, we’ll gain another chance to achieve the hard-fought wins that bring us closer to big, structural change, and I’m glad to stand with him.”



Warren is wading into the primary at a tense time for her presidential campaign. The Iowa caucus is less than a week away, and senators have been busy with the Senate’s impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Warren is trying to stage a come-from-behind victory after slipping in national and state polls in recent weeks.

Throughout her presidential campaign, Warren has made selective endorsements of progressives in congressional primaries. Last fall, she endorsed against conservative Democratic incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar to back challenger Jessica Cisneros. And she endorsed Sen. Ed Markey’s reelection in a tense primary fight against Rep. Joe Kennedy III, who had taken classes with Warren at Harvard Law School.

Jones, a 32-year-old attorney, had already announced his candidacy to challenge Lowey, whose district encompasses an area directly north of New York City, including parts of Rockland and Westchester counties, before she announced her retirement in October.