Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Tuesday formally endorsed Joe Biden for president, in the latest endorsement to come despite sexual assault allegations against Biden by former Senate staffer Tara Reade.
“Vice President Biden is the leader America needs – a leader who will restore dignity, competence and compassion to the Oval Office while restoring America’s moral leadership around the world,” Abrams said in a statement distributed by the Biden campaign. “I look forward to continuing my strong support for his candidacy and doing all I can to make sure he is elected this November.”
Abrams, who has been publicly advocating for herself as a possible vice presidential pick, also reiterated on Tuesday that she does not believe Tara Reade’s allegations against Biden.
“The question I got was not only the question of Joe Biden’s character, but of my character,” Abrams said in an interview with Vice. “And if I believed that he had done what he’s accused of doing, I would not be in any other conversations, because that’s wrong. What he’s accused of doing, and that he has flatly and clearly denied, and I believe his denial, speaks not only to who he is but to who I am.”
Reade alleges that Biden sexually assaulted her in spring 1993. Statements by friends and former neighbors, and a court document from 1996 show that Reade had discussed an alleged assault in Biden’s office at the time, although there is no evidence that directly confirms Biden’s involvement.
Other possible vice presidential candidates, including Senators Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) and Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), have also declared their support for Biden despite Reade’s allegations.