Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre joined the Obama cause today, pledging his support for the Illinois senator.
Barack Obama secured the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night with the last primaries, but McIntyre waited a few days for his endorsement, Barb Barrett reports.
Although Hillary Clinton carried McIntyre's southeastern North Carolina district in the May 6 primary, McIntyre had told both candidates he wanted to let the national primary process play itself out before making his choice.
"I will be supporting Sen. Obama," McIntyre said in an interview this afternoon. "It has been a robust exchange of ideas, and it has been a healthy process."
Obama tried several times last weekend to reach the Democratic superdelegate for a last-minute endorsement, but the pair kept missing one another, in part because of a storm that knocked out power in McIntyre's Lumberton home.
More after the jump.
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McIntyre also spoke with Clinton at least twice in recent weeks.
He said he isn't worried about a split within the Democratic party.
"I was confident we'd have a nominee by mid-summer, and we have one in early summer," McIntyre said. "People realize we do need change, and now more than ever we need to pull together."
McIntyre is the last of the N.C. Democratic congressional delegation to publicly endorse a candidate.
U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, said this morning he, too, will back Obama.
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