LONDON (GN) The mayor of Alabama’s largest city is endorsing Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomina­tion just weeks after the vice president met with a group of Southern black mayors representing mil­lions of voters in key early primary states. In an ex­clusive interview with The Associated Press on Sun­day, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said he left that Atlanta meeting in November convinced that Biden is the best choice to defeat President Donald Trump and lead the coun­try. “I think he would view mayors as his partners in the campaign and he would view us as partners in the White House,” Woodfin said. “That’s important to me.” Woodfin’s endorse­ment, which he is expected to announce on Monday, is the latest amid a scramble among the 2020 candidates to shore up support with mayors. Late 2020 entry Michael Bloomberg — the former mayor of New York whose philanthropy has supported mayors across the country with training and millions of dollars in funding for city initiatives — has secured the backing of eight mayors since en­tering the field last month, including black mayors in Southern cities with large black populations whose voters could factor into the primary contest. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney endorsed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in October. Pete But­tigieg is the current mayor of South Bend, Indiana, New Jer­sey Sen. Cory Booker is for­mer mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Vermont Sen.