She could be a strong voice of support for Bloomberg’s late bid

Washington D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser will endorse Mike Bloomberg Thursday afternoon, as he’s set to give a speech on affordable housing in the nation’s capital. Bowser will be appearing with Bloomberg at his remarks, and will go on to be one of Bloomberg’s national campaign co-chairs.

This comes just one week after Bloomberg announced his support for Washington D.C. becoming its own state; that same day, he praised Bowser’s work while he was speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“This city’s future is brighter than ever – and a lot of the credit for that goes to my friend, Mayor Muriel Bowser,” Bloomberg said on stage. “She is doing a terrific job – and I hope that someday soon we’ll be calling her Governor Bowser!”

The room rippled with chuckles, but Bloomberg went on. “The time has come for D.C. to become a state – with full voting rights. And as president, I’ll work with Congress to make it happen!”

Bowser is throwing her support in for Bloomberg even while the field is quite crowded ahead of the Iowa caucuses. And, it includes candidates whom Bowser has praised in the past – like Joe Biden.

“Mike Bloomberg is the only candidate who will unify the country and defeat Donald Trump and has a blueprint to rebuild America and improve the quality of life for all Americans,” Bowser sad in a statement to ABC News, provided by the campaign. “He is committed to giving every American a fair shot through his housing affordability and All-In-Economy plans, putting an end to gun violence with common sense reforms, and mitigating the causes of climate change. I have known Mike for many years and his long-standing commitment to making cities stronger, more prosperous, and inclusive is why I’m endorsing him for president.”

Bowser’s marks an extremely weighty voice for Bloomberg’s candidacy, as the mayor of the nation’s capital, and the first woman ever re-elected to that role. She is also a prominent African American woman and a player in Democratic politics.

“There are two elected executives in Washington — the president and the mayor,” Bloomberg said in a statement accepting Bowser’s endorsement. “One has broken promise after promise on the issues that matter. The other has emerged as a national leader on affordable housing, economic opportunity, sustainability, safe streets, good schools, and equal rights — and that’s Mayor Bowser,” Bloomberg continued. “Washington, DC could not be in better hands, but she and local leaders around the country deserve a true partner in the White House — and that’s what I’ll be.”

In his bid for the White House, Bloomberg has sought to repair for the longstanding criticism he has received for backing New York’s “stop and frisk” policy; Bowser’s endorsement comes as he looks to shore up his support among the key voting bloc.

Bloomberg’s push for D.C. statehood tracks with his larger campaign strategy: he has embarked on his late run and risen rapidly in the polls on an unorthodox bid: bypassing the four early states altogether, instead keying in on the delegate-rich Super Tuesday spots.

He has poured his vast fortune, and full attentions, on heading those states so often overlooked by Democratic candidates at this stage in the primary season; as of Monday, he had visited every single one of the Super Tuesday states. Recently, he also announced his support for Puerto Rico becoming the country’s 51st state.