Progressive group endorses Biden: He’s ‘Abraham Lincoln compared to Donald Trump’

The progressive group Indivisible endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Monday, with its co-founder, Ezra Levin, calling the former vice president “Abraham Lincoln compared to Donald Trump.” 

Biden was not the group’s favored candidate in the primary, but the overwhelming majority of its members now say they will back him in November, according to NBC News, which first reported the endorsement. 

About 95 percent of Indivisible’s members backed the group’s endorsement of Biden, co-founder Leah Greenberg said in a statement to The Hill.

“We’re going to keep up the fight for a more progressive platform, but in the fight against an evil agenda motivated by greed and racism, there can be no middle ground. Joe Biden must win, and Donald Trump and those who empower him must lose,” Greenberg added.

The group had previously called on its members to pledge to back the eventual Democratic nominee, and Levin and Greenberg told NBC News they are not seeing major defections. 

“Nobody is taking their ball and going home,” Greenberg said. 

The progressive group’s leaders said they are engaged with Biden’s campaign on policies they would like to see him prioritize, including statehood for Washington, D.C., and universal voting by mail. 

“Even if he’s not on the same page as us to begin with, he’s willing to listen,” Levin told NBC. “And importantly, he’s willing to change his mind. If we can organize and push him, he’ll move.” 

Spokespeople for Biden’s campaign were not immediately available for comment. 

The endorsement comes as Biden faces allegations of sexual assault from a former Senate staffer, Tara Reade. Biden has denied the allegations. 

Greenberg told NBC it was important for Biden to “engage directly and aggressively with these allegations.”

Biden outlasted more progressive challengers in the Democratic primary, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who have suspended their 2020 White House campaigns.

–This report was updated at 12:44 p.m.