Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE won the endorsement of a top black legislator in Florida this week as the former vice president seeks to gin up support in the crucial swing state.

Biden clinched the endorsement of Audrey Gibson, the top Democrat in the Florida state Senate. Florida’s March 17 primary could prove crucial should the nominating contest last that long, with its 219 delegates possibly emerging as a boost after several states hold their primaries and caucuses in February.

“We’ve already seen what a neophyte does,” Gibson told the Tampa Bay Times in a reference to President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE. “Our country can’t take any more of that.”

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“There is a draw to Joe Biden that you can feel and you know him and believe in what he’s saying.”



Neither the Biden campaign nor Gibson immediately responded to requests for comment from The Hill.

While Gibson had stayed on the sidelines as many of her state colleagues lined up behind Biden, she said she was always leaning toward the former vice president in part due to his tenure in the Obama administration.

The key endorsement passed over Sens. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisTexas Democratic official urges Biden to visit state: 'I thought he had his own plane' The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden on Trump: 'He'll leave' l GOP laywers brush off Trump's election remarks l Obama's endorsements A game theorist's advice to President Trump on filling the Supreme Court seat MORE (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker Cory Anthony BookerThe movement to reform animal agriculture has reached a tipping point Watchdog confirms State Dept. canceled award for journalist who criticized Trump 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing MORE (D-N.J.), the two African American candidates in the 2020 primary field.

“I understand he’s not an African American, everybody understands that part,” Gibson told Politico, which was the first to report on the endorsement. “That doesn’t mean he cannot be communicative and be focused on issues that impact certain African American communities.”

“You don’t have to be an African American to have an understanding of what folks go through.”

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The endorsement represents an intersection of two key groups that Biden has sought to court: black voters and Florida state legislators. Besides Jones, the former vice president has won the support of several black state lawmakers, including state Reps. Ramon Alexander, Tracie Davis, Wengay Newton, Barbara Watson and Clovis Watson and state Sen. Perry Thurston.

Biden has leveraged heavily on support from black voters to keep him at or near the top of most national and statewide polls.

A New York Times–Sienna University poll released in October showed Biden with 31 percent support from black voters in Florida, while a national Quinnipiac University survey published this week showed Biden with 41 percent support from black voters across the country.