Joe Biden has already built up a big advantage over his 2020 rivals in the first day of his campaign
- Former Vice President Joe Biden announced a 2020 presidential run on Thursday, the third attempt of his career.
- Biden immediately began racking up high profile endorsements, including several senators from outside his home state.
- Biden is the 20th candidate to enter the 2020 presidential race on the Democratic side.
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Former Vice President Joe Biden immediately received several high profile endorsements upon announcing his 2020 presidential campaign Thursday.
The slew of endorsements and prominent backers suggest Biden is looking to build a strong coalition of support from across the Democratic Party.
There are six sitting senators also running for president in 2020. Within an hour of Biden's announcement, more senators had endorsed the former vice president than any of their colleagues in the race who have been running for several months.
Shortly after Biden's announcement early Thursday morning, Democratic Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper of Delaware threw their support behind Biden, a longtime senator from the first state in the union. Delaware's at-large Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester also endorsed Biden.
"We are at a crucial moment in our history," Coons said in a statement. "We need leaders who will bring us together instead of tearing us apart, who will focus on the real issues facing American families, and who will restore the United States' role in the world as a force for stability, freedom and human rights. Joe Biden is that leader, and I'm proud to endorse him for President of the United States."
Outside Biden's home state, Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, who is facing a tough re-election fight in 2020, also endorsed the former vice president, followed by Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
"The quality that makes Joe stand out is his ability to bring people together to find common ground while standing up for what he believes is right," Jones wrote on Twitter. "We need to listen to each other & get things done for working people. Joe can, and will, do that. That's why I support Joe Biden."
In addition, Biden managed to earn support from several House lawmakers, including Reps. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Thomas Suozzi of New York, as well as Brendan Boyle and Matt Cartwright, who are from Pennsylvania.
Read more: Joe Biden says he told Obama not to formally endorse him
Biden also received a supportive statement from former President Barack Obama, which stopped short of a full endorsement. Biden told reporters that he personally requested Obama not endorse him, as he is looking to court support on his own merits.
One endorsement came from an unlikely place when anti-Trump attorney Michael Avenatti wrote on Twitter he would be backing Biden.
"I am extremely happy that @JoeBiden has decided to enter the race," Avenatti wrote. "He offers Dems the very best chance in 2020, especially in key states. He has the fight, intelligence and fortitude to beat Trump and begin to make America, America again. He has my enthusiastic support."
Avenatti, who at one point was mulling a 2020 presidential run for himself, lost a lot of his favor in the Democratic Party for both his handling of a female accusing Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, as well as recently being indicted for 36 counts of financial crimes.
Shortly after endorsing Biden, Avenatti set his Twitter account to private.