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Last Thursday, just days ahead of today's mayoral election in Birmingham, President Joe Biden gave his stamp of approval to incumbent Mayor Randall Woodfin's re-election campaign.
Traditionally, sitting presidents do not endorse candidates in local races, making Biden's support of Woodfin rare and noteworthy. Woodfin and Biden do, however, have some familiarity with one another.
During the 2020 election, Woodfin endorsed Biden and also served as a Biden delegate at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
“Mayor Woodfin is one of the great young leaders of our country,” remarked Biden in his Thursday statement.
“From protecting the health and safety of the people of Birmingham to saving and creating jobs, to providing tuition-free higher education and fighting for voting rights, he sets the bar for making sure government works for the people."
Local political science professor, Andrea Eckelman, expressed amazement at Biden's endorsement of Woodfin, telling local news station CBS42, “I’m actually super surprised—only because it’s a local race."
“It would be one thing if it were one of our Alabama congressmen, but the fact that it’s a national office like president – it’s fairly rare in a race in a mid-level sized city,” said the University of Montevallo professor.
Woodfin has also received endorsements from high profile political figures such as U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Doug Jones (D-AL) as well as Democratic organizer and former Georgia State Representative Stacy Abrams (D-GA).
So far, the incumbent mayor's campaign has raised close to $2 million from nearly 6,000 donors during this election cycle—the highest among his seven challengers on today's ballot.
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