Top Obama Aide Endorses Tom Perriello In Virginia Governor's Race

Valerie Jarrett , who served as a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama for the duration of his presidency, endorsed former Rep. Tom Perriello in Virginias hotly contested Democratic gubernatorial primary race.

Jarrett made the announcement on Twitter Saturday, praising Perriellos vote for the Affordable Care Act as a freshman congressman from a conservative district in central Virginia. Perriello went on to lose his reelection bid amid a backlash to the law that fueled a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives.

Care abt the healthcare debate? @tomperriello stood up for #ACA when it mattered most. That's political courage - we need it more than ever.

Valerie Jarrett (@ValerieJarrett) May 13, 2017","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Valerie Jarrett","author_url":"https://twitter.com/ValerieJarrett","cache_age":86400,"description":"Care abt the healthcare debate? @tomperriello stood up for #ACA when it mattered most. 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Care abt the healthcare debate? @tomperriello stood up for #ACA when it mattered most. That's political courage - we need it more than ever.
Valerie Jarrett (@ValerieJarrett) May 13, 2017

The Perriello campaign confirmed that the tweet represented an official endorsement of his candidacy.

Perriello thanked her for the endorsement.

Thank you, Valerie! Was proud to stand w/ Pres. Obama to pass ACAand I'll stand up to fight #AHCA & ensure Virginians have access to care. https://t.co/VACG8A5xWK

Tom Perriello (@tomperriello) May 13, 2017","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Tom Perriello","author_url":"https://twitter.com/tomperriello","cache_age":86400,"description":"Thank you, Valerie! Was proud to stand w/ Pres. 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Thank you, Valerie! Was proud to stand w/ Pres. Obama to pass ACAand I'll stand up to fight #AHCA & ensure Virginians have access to care. https://t.co/VACG8A5xWK
Tom Perriello (@tomperriello) May 13, 2017

Jarrett was a close confidante of Obamas from Chicago long before he became president. She joined Obama in lobbying Democratic National Committee members to elect former Labor Secretary Tom Perez as chairman in his successful race against Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison in February.

As a member of Congress, Perriello distinguished himself for his support of Obamas agenda despite living in a district that was increasingly hostile to the then-president. He went on to head the Democratic-aligned Center for American Progress action fund and serve in the Obama administration State Department.

Jarretts use of the phrase political courage appears to be a reference to Obamas speech last week upon accepting the Profile in Courage award at the John F. Kennedy Library on Sunday. He dedicated the award to the Democrats in Congress who lost their elections after voting for the ACA, commonly known as Obamacare.

These men and women did the right thing, Obama said. They did the hard thing. Theirs was a profile in courage.