Advertisement State Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, first vice chair of NHDP, endorses Biden for president Portsmouth Democrat endorsed Sanders in 2016 three months after he won primary Share Shares Copy Link Copy

State Sen. Martha Fuller Clark of Portsmouth threw her support behind former Vice President Joe Biden for president Thursday, saying that the 2020 election is too important for her to stay neutral during the presidential primary campaign.>> Download the FREE WMUR appFuller Clark, who is also first vice chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, announced her endorsement in an interview with WMUR political director Adam Sexton.See the key except from interview here.Fuller Clark noted that in past cycles, she remained neutral in the presidential primary, but then made endorsements later in the campaigns.“But this year, this campaign is so important and so significant to what happens in the country, that I came to the decision that I needed to step forward now and not wait until after the primary to endorse a candidate,” she said.“I’ve known Joe Biden for 30 years. I trust him. I admire him. I think he’s really an exceptional individual with great integrity,” Fuller Clark said.In 2016, Fuller Clark endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, but not until early June of that year, more than three months after the primary and more than a month ahead of the Democratic National Convention.She was the only New Hampshire superdelegate to support Sanders over eventual nominee Hillary Clinton because, she said, she felt “compelled” to represent the voting in primary, which Sanders won by a margin of 60 percent to 38 percent.Due to national party rules changes enacted since 2016, superdelegates will not vote on the first ballot at the 2020 national convention.She said that change freed her to make an endorsement ahead of the primary.Fuller Clark said Biden has “unparalleled experience, particularly with regard to international and foreign affairs.” While praising all Democratic candidates in the presidential field, she also said the former vice president has the best chance of defeating President Donald Trump in the general election. Fuller Clark has represented the Seacoast area of the state in the Legislature since 1990, first in the New Hampshire House, and is currently in her fifth term as a state senator.She has been first vice chair of the NHDP since 2007 and has been an activist for several decades.