Wash. State Lieutenant Gov. Cyrus Habib endorses Pete Buttigieg, named as Western U.S. co-chair

Washington State Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president and plans to serve as a Western U.S. Co-Chair for Buttigieg’s campaign. Habib is the first Washington statewide official to endorse a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020.

Buttigieg, who will be part of the next Democratic debate at 5 p.m. Feb. 25 on KIRO 7, said he’s known Habib for years and called him a trailblazer dedicated to public service. Buttigieg staff said there are 1,600 campaign volunteers in Washington.

Habib, the only Iranian-American to hold statewide office in the United States, was elected Washington State’s 16th Lieutenant Governor in 2016 at age 35. He previously was elected to the State House of Representatives in 2012 and the State Senate in 2014, where he was Democratic Whip and a member of the Democratic leadership team.

A three-time cancer survivor, Habib has been blind since age 8. He’s a graduate of Columbia and Oxford universities and Yale Law School, where he was Editor of the Yale Law Journal.

“Having known and worked with Pete for 15 years, I have every confidence that he is the candidate that will defeat Donald Trump,” Habib said in a statement. “Pete is offering a fresh perspective with a vision to move this country forward.”

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