Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) endorses Barack Obama

“Barack has been a proven agent for change and advocate for middle-class Americans,” U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar said.

Klobuchar, the junior Senator from Minnesota, compared the Illinois Senator to the late Vice President Hubert Humphrey, also a former Minnesota senator. She said Obama speaks “with a different voice, bringing a new perspective and inspiring a real excitement from the American people.”

At Minnesota’s DFL caucuses on Super Tuesday the voters had expressed over a two-to-one preference for Obama over his nearest competitor but Klobuchar, one of Minnesota’s super-delegates to the Democratic Nominating Convention, delayed issuing any endorsement until March 31st. Senator Obama also recently picked up the formal endorsement of Senate Democrat, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, which may prove pivotal in the weeks remaining before PA’s primary on April 22, where Obama’s campaign would like to close the gap with that states Democrats — polls show they have favored Senator Clinton, though her lead appears to be shrinking as voters become more familiar with Obama and conversant with the issues, resulting in Clinton’s name recognition becoming a less significant factor in the campaign.