KALAMAZOO, MI -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is putting her support behind a fellow Democrat hoping to flip Michigan’s 6th District seat in the upcoming U.S. House of Representatives race.

Whitmer announced her endorsement of state Rep. Jon Hoadley, D-Kalamazoo, for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, since 1986. The governor tweeted a video expressing her support on Friday, Feb 21.

In the video, Whitmer said she has known Hoadley for a long time, and commended his platform on environmental, healthcare and human rights issues.

“MI-06 needs someone who isn’t afraid to fight for what is right, and I know Jon is just the person for the job,” Whitmer wrote in the tweet.

I am proud and excited to say that I am endorsing @jonhoadley for Congress. MI-06 needs someone who isn’t afraid to fight for what is right, and I know Jon is just the person for the job.

Join us: https://t.co/yuLRZ6GdEL pic.twitter.com/cPCUrHPLQ6 — Gretchen Whitmer (@gretchenwhitmer) February 21, 2020

The state representative from Kalamazoo confirmed in April his plans for the 2020 congressional campaign.

An endorsement from Whitmer could be a signal to the rest of the country that Michigan will go blue in the 2020 election, Hoadley said.

Earlier this month, Whitmer was tapped to deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union.

“If we look to her to be a response to Trump and she’s making an endorsement this early in the race, then that shows that this race is winnable,” Hoadley said.

Due to term limits, Hoadley is serving his third and final two-year term representing Michigan’s 60th House District, which encompasses the city of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Township and part of Portage.

Fellow Democrat Jennifer Richardson is also campaigning to be on the ballot on Nov. 3.

Upton has not yet announced if he plans to run for reelection.

Upton visited the eroding shorelines of South Haven Thursday after helping introduce the bipartisan Safer Harbors for Our Recreational Economy (SHORE) Act this week, which he said would benefit a number of recreational harbors in the 6th Congressional District.

Michigan’s 6th Congressional District represents around 720,000 people in the counties of Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Cass, St. Joseph, Berrien and Allegan.

Winning reelection to Congress most recently in November 2018, Upton is serving his 17th consecutive term. He was first elected in 1986 as representative for Michigan’s 4th District, and later represented the 6th District after boundaries were redrawn in 1992. There are no term limits in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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