Iowa's Youngest Dem Legislator (Also An Iraq War Vet) Endorses Biden

Here's an advance look at the big endorsement that Sen. Joe Biden's team is bragging about today.

He's Iowa State Rep. McKinley Bailey, all of 26 years old. Bailey will announce his endorsement of Biden at Iowa's state capitol building alongside Iowa House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

"After returning from serving in Iraq, I quickly grew frustrated by my impression that leaders in both political parties did not understand the fundamental challenges to ending the war in Iraq," Bailey says in a statement. "When I first learned of Sen. Biden's plan, I realized that was the ticket - a political solution, not a military one. I am endorsing him because from day one, our next president must make decisions on the direction in Iraq and I am convinced Senator Biden has the knowledge and experience to bring our troops home without leaving a situation that requires another generation of Americans to return in a decade."

Mr. Bailey, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne division and a veteran of more than 100 combat missions, had been courted by all the major presidential candidates. Like ten other state legislators, he chose Biden.

Biden's strategy is predicated in part on high-profile legislative endorsements; he raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Iowa House candidates in 2006.

Iowa Democratic caucus goers skew older...and Mr. Biden's demographic is probably older than older, but young Mr. Bailey might open up a new vista: all those young Democrats that Barack Obama is trying to bring into the system.