Jerry Brown Endorses Hillary Clinton

In an effort to "stop the dangerous campaign of Donald Trump," Gov. Jerry Brown has thrown his weight behind Hillary Clinton in next week's California presidential primary.

In an "Open Letter to California Democrats and Independents," citing Trump's description of climate change as a "hoax" and his promise to "tear up the Paris Climate Agreement," Brown urges voters to support the former secretary of state "to be sure that it is Hillary Clinton who takes the oath of office, not Donald Trump."

Brown's letter makes clear he identifies with the insurgent campaign of Bernie Sanders, comparing the Vermont senator's message with his own 1992 campaign for president -- a campaign that left bitter feelings between Brown and the ultimate Democratic nominee, Bill Clinton.

But Brown says he'll cast his vote for Clinton, because she "convincingly made the case that she knows how to get things done and has the tenacity and skill to advance the Democratic agenda."

Brown credited Sanders with bringing the issue of wealth inequality to the fore. But balanced against that, he said, is the fact Clinton has won a substantial majority of the popular vote cast in Democratic primaries nationwide -- about 56.5 percent of the 23 million votes cast to date -- and holds a substantial lead in delegates.

"If Clinton were to win only 10 percent of the remaining delegates -- wildly improbable -- she would still exceed the number needed for the nomination," Brown wrote. "In other words, Clinton’s lead is insurmountable and Democrats have shown -- by millions of votes -- that they want her as their nominee."

Brown joins a long list of elected California Democrats to endorse Clinton, including U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Some 35 of the 39 Democratic members of the state's delegation to the House of Representatives also back Clinton. Among congressional Democrats who haven't endorsed Clinton -- or anyone else -- to date are Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, the former speaker of the House, and Oakland's Barbara Lee.

Earlier this month Brown also threw his support behind Harris in her race for the U.S. Senate. Like Harris, Clinton has close ties to the San Francisco political consulting firm SCN Strategies, which also runs Brown's political operation.

How helpful Brown's endorsement will be remains to be seen. His endorsement of Libby Schaaf (another SCN client) no doubt helped her win the 2014 Oakland mayor's race in a crowded field. But Schaaf, unlike Clinton and Sanders, was not that well known to voters and Brown's endorsement clearly helped distinguish her.

Polls have given mixed signals about how much Sanders is eroding what appeared to be a safe lead for Clinton.

A poll released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California showed Clinton leading Sanders by just 2 percentage points -- within the survey's margin of error. A SurveyUSA poll -- one conducted at about the same time as the PPIC poll and assigned more weight by widely watched statistical analysis site FiveThirtyEight -- showed Clinton with an 18-point lead.