AFL-CIO political arm endorses Lupe Valdez Valdez and fellow Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew White met with labor leaders over weekend

Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez speaks at a campaign kickoff event on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, in Dallas. Valdez is running for governor of Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News via AP) Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez speaks at a campaign kickoff event on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, in Dallas. Valdez is running for governor of Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News via AP) Photo: Ashley Landis, Associated Press Photo: Ashley Landis, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close AFL-CIO political arm endorses Lupe Valdez 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN -- As expected, the political arm of the AFL-CIO has endorsed Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez over one of the other top contenders, Andrew White.

The vote came Sunday after Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff, and White, a Houston entrepreneur, addressed the group's Committee on Political Education during their annual convention in Austin.

Valdez has been touted as the choice of top Democratic Party officials our of nine candidates running for governor, and the endorsement of the labor group for her had been widely expected.

Out of the nine Democrats running for governor, only Valdez and White had been invited to address the convention.

"We evaluated candidates from across the state on their commitment to improve the lives of working families," Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy said. "We're excited and energized by the prospect of changing politics in Texas. By emphasizing issues of economic justice and fairness, our members will be motivated to turn out, to vote and to win."

He added: "We congratulate Lupe Valdez and the other candidates who demonstrated that their priorities for governing are in sync with the priorities of working people. We look forward to advocating strongly for all the COPE-endorsed candidates."

The group also endorsed other Democrats, including Mike Collier for lieutenant governor. They made no endorsement in the U.S. Senate race, reportedly because Democrat U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who is running to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, did not attend the convention because of other commitments.