One of the least-noticed presidential candidates in the Democratic field is U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who hasn’t made the cut for his party’s debates and hasn’t made a dent in the polls.

But he has won over at least one influential Mainer: U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a first-term Democrat from the 2nd District.

Golden is the first member of Congress to endorse Bennet.

But the Lewiston lawmaker won’t be able to vote for him in next month’s Maine primary because Bennet didn’t make the ballot in the Pine Tree State. Twelve other Democrats did, some of whom have already quit the race.

It’s an unconventional choice, for sure, given that Bennet at this point has almost no chance to capture his party’s nomination for president or even to attract much notice before his campaign ends.

Bennet has put a fair amount of effort into rounding up support in New Hampshire, but still isn’t expected to influence the outcome of its first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday.

He trails far behind in polls that show far more support for competitors including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana; U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Golden, however, is a Bennet backer.

In a statement to Politico, the congressman said a voter described the Colorado senator as “calm, thoughtful, honest and humble” before admitting that “he doesn’t stand a chance.”

“That’s the kind of cynicism too many of us have come to expect of our politics these days,” Golden told Politico, adding that “these qualities should be exactly the things we look for in a leader.”

Bennet’s campaign pointed out that Golden’s district twice voted for Democrat Barack Obama before shifting heavily to Republican Donald Trump in 2016.

It said that Bennet’s experience and agenda, which is more moderate in nature than his party’s front-runners, could help Democrats win back those voters who moved from Obama to Trump in the last election.

The campaign also noted that Bennet was “the first presidential candidate to come out in support of ranked-choice voting,” the method Maine adopted in 2018 that helped put Golden across the finish line in a close race.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a 1st District Democrat, and Maine’s two U.S. senators, Republican Susan Collins and independent Angus King, have not yet endorsed anyone for president.

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