Congressional Black Caucus leaders are expected to endorse Hillary Clinton on Thursday after a resounding loss to Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire primary. Pictured, Clinton attends the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner on September 19, in Washington, D.C. File photo by Aude Guerrucci/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Congressional Black Caucus leaders are expected to endorse Hillary Clinton on Thursday after a resounding loss to Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire primary.

CBC leaders will endorse Clinton through the group's political action committee during an event at a club adjacent to the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. The group will then send its members to states where black voters are crucial for the Clinton campaign, particularly in South Carolina where primaries are scheduled on Feb. 27.


"It's one thing to endorse and do nothing. It's another thing to endorse and to go to work," Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., chairman of the CBC PAC, told The Washington Post, adding the lawmakers are "people that can actually testify [to] the work that Hillary Clinton has done."

Clinton already has an advantage among black voters compared to Sanders and the CBC endorsement could solidify that support as she struggles to draw in other demographics, particularly young people.

"There are serious concerns that the millennial gap is as wide as it is. And I would hope that over the next day or two they would figure out a strategy to address it," CBC member Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said Wednesday.

Meeks said 90 percent of the 20-member board of the CBC's PAC voted to endorse Clinton. None voted for Sanders but a few abstained because they haven't made up their minds on who to endorse.

Rep. James E. Clyburn, the most prominent South Carolina Democrat, said he may back Clinton but would take time to think on his decision.

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"That was certainly my intention," he told The Washington Post. "But I am re-evaluating that. I really am having serious conversations with my family members."