Jean Carnahan endorses Obama

WASHINGTON -- Ex-Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., will endorse Sen. Barack Obama, the Post-Dispatch has learned.

Carnahan’s endorsement will be officially rolled out Monday. It’s another win for the Obama campaign in courting the state’s top political women, who could play a pivotal role persuading female voters to line up behind the Illinois senator and presidential hopeful.

"While I know and admire all the Democrats running for president, I am convinced that Barack Obama is the candidate best able to unite our nation and restore our moral leadership in the world," Carnahan said in a statement to be released today.

She said Obama will be “a powerful force for change” and called him an “inspirational leader, who embodies the ideals of our democracy and the hopes of a new century.”

Obama and his main rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, are competing furiously in Missouri and the camps see women voters as crucial to any victory.

Carnahan served two years in the Senate after her husband, Gov. Mel Carnahan, was elected posthumously in 2000. Her support for Obama comes on the heels of an Obama endorsement last weekend from Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

WASHINGTON -- Ex-Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., will endorse Sen. Barack Obama, the Post-Dispatch has learned.

Carnahan’s endorsement will be officially rolled out Monday. It’s another win for the Obama campaign in courting the state’s top political women, who could play a pivotal role persuading female voters to line up behind the Illinois senator and presidential hopeful.

"While I know and admire all the Democrats running for president, I am convinced that Barack Obama is the candidate best able to unite our nation and restore our moral leadership in the world," Carnahan said in a statement to be released today.

She said Obama will be “a powerful force for change” and called him an “inspirational leader, who embodies the ideals of our democracy and the hopes of a new century.”

Obama and his main rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, are competing furiously in Missouri and the camps see women voters as crucial to any victory.

Carnahan served two years in the Senate after her husband, Gov. Mel Carnahan, was elected posthumously in 2000. Her support for Obama comes on the heels of an Obama endorsement last weekend from Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.