Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden has snagged the endorsement of state Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas, bolstering his support in an area rival Beto O’Rourke dominated in last year’s midterm elections.

Johnson, a freshman senator, said it was vital for Democrats to nominate a candidate who could beat President Donald Trump.

“We’re not electing a monarch, we’re electing a president,” Johnson told The Dallas Morning News late Tuesday. “The president has to work with Congress. Joe Biden is the most likely to be able to move his agenda through Congress.”

Johnson said he picked Biden over O’Rourke because the nation needs an experienced leader to follow President Donald Trump. Biden, the former vice president under Barack Obama, served 36 years as a senator from Delaware.

“Biden’s experience is critical,” Johnson said. “Beto, for all of his strengths, does not have that.”

O’Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, thrilled Texas Democrats with his close finish in 2018 against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. He crushed Cruz in Dallas County, including in Johnson’s northern Dallas-anchored state Senate district. O’Rourke is credited with providing the coattails that helped pull numerous Texas Democrats to victory, including Johnson.

State Senator District 16 candidate Nathan Johnson speaks during the Democratic Primary Forum held in the Wyndham Dallas Suites - Park Central in Dallas, Sunday, January 28, 2018. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

“Beto is a tremendous asset to the state of Texas,” Johnson said. “I’m sure he will continue to be a tremendous asset to the state of Texas.”

Johnson, serving his first term in the Texas Senate, joins U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, state Rep. Victoria Neave of Dallas and former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings on Biden’s team.

O’Rourke has far more Texas endorsements than Biden, including Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and state Reps. Ana-Maria Ramos of Richardson, Jessica Gonzalez of Dallas and Rhetta Bowers of Rowlett.

The former vice president and O’Rourke, along with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, are at the top of most Texas polls.

The March presidential primary in Texas is considered critical to the presidential aspirations of O’Rourke. It’s also a state where Biden hopes to score a bounty of delegates.