State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex) on Thursday endorsed Joe Biden for president, the latest in a series of state and federal New Jersey elected officials to back the former vice president after U.S. Sen. Cory Booker dropped out of the race last week.

Rice (D-Essex), a 34-year incumbent from Newark, is chairman of New Jersey’s Legislative Black Caucus.

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Though Rice is often at odds with New Jersey’s Democratic bosses, his endorsement, along with that of several other elected officials, is a sign that the state is fertile ground for Biden, who for decades represented Delaware in the Senate — within commuting distance from some South Jersey towns.

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The overwhelming majority of New Jersey elected officials backed Booker’s presidential bid. After he dropped out, Gov. Phil Murphy indicated that he didn’t plan to endorse anyone else soon, which left local Democratic leaders free to back their candidates of choice with less pressure from the top. But so far, the only high profile endorsements have gone to Biden.

Rice follows Democratic U.S. Reps. Tom Malinowski and Donald Payne and state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) in backing Biden.
Senate President Steve Sweeney, who represents the area of South Jersey that’s near Delaware, hasn’t yet endorsed Biden but recently hinted to New Jersey Globe that he might.

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