Sanders Campaign Press Release - Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Lawton Endorses Sanders for President

BURLINGTON, Vt. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday welcomed an endorsement by former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton.

"I have never before felt greater urgency in a political campaign," Lawton said in a statement from her home in Green Bay, Wisconsin. "This election gives us the opportunity to rebuild America's middle class and restore stability at the core of our democracy. We must to realize both economic and national security, for all. That is why I endorse Bernie Sanders for president of the United States."

Lawton was the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin for two terms beginning in 2003. She will introduce Sanders at a rally on Wednesday in Appleton, Wis.

"Barbara Lawton is a progressive leader in the great progressive tradition of Wisconsin," Sanders said. "She has been an outspoken voice for campaign finance reform and I look forward to working with her to create a government which represents all Americans and not just the billionaires."

In endorsing Sanders' candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination for president, Lawton said:

"We need a bold, experienced and visionary leader with judgment unfettered by big campaign donors. Someone who understands that incremental politics brought us to this moment where our economy has been reshaped to favor the wealthiest few, and locked us into inequality.

"We need someone who hears the clamor from business owners for a health care system that will free them to create jobs. We need a president who understands that there is no global security without human security, who repositions our nation on the center of a global stage with unimpeachable moral authority.

"We can have government we can afford and restore our faith in the process when we face the issue of money in politics head on. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate for president today committed and ready to face this biggest of threats to the world's oldest democracy."

Wisconsin is the next stop in the contest between Sanders and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. Eighty-six pledged delegates will be at stake in next Tuesday's primary election.