State Rep. Rick Noriega (D), set to challenge Sen. John Cornyn (R) next year, has been endorsed by Democracy for America, a left-of-center organization that bills itself as backing fiscally responsible, socially progressive candidates.

Noriega is the first Senate candidate of the cycle to receive a DFA endorsement. The group’s chairman is Jim Dean, brother of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, and the group is an outgrowth of Howard Dean’s former political operation.

“We heard from thousands of DFA activists over the past few weeks, telling us about the work they were doing for Noriega’s campaign,” Jim Dean said in a statement. “Noriega has real boots-on-the-ground support.”
— David M. Drucker