After staying on the sidelines in a primary that originally included two Colorado Democrats, Gov. Jared Polis on Friday formally endorsed Joe Biden for president, saying the former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee can unify the country.

Polis said last year that he would support his party’s nominee but otherwise stayed out of the race that at one point counted U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and former Gov. John Hickenlooper, Polis’ immediate predecessor, among the candidates hoping to challenge President Donald Trump.

“Joe Biden has the heart and experience for this moment, and is building the broad and diverse coalition of support that is needed to unify our country,” Polis said in a statement released by the Biden campaign. “With all that is facing us, it could not be clearer – we need a kind, empathetic, and experienced leader like Joe who has the experience to get our country back on track and start delivering for all of us on day one.”

Added Polis: “I’m going to do everything I can to elect Joe Biden and I hope Coloradans all across the state will join me.”

Biden finished second behind Bernie Sanders in Colorado’s March 3 presidential primary, though Sanders suspended his campaign soon after and endorsed Biden in April.

With Polis in his corner, Biden has been endorsed by most of the prominent Democrats in Colorado, including Bennet, Hickenlooper, U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Jason Crow and Ed Perlmutter, Attorney General Phil Weiser, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, former U.S. Sens. Mark Udall and Ken Salazar and a bevy of legislative leaders.

A recent poll showed Biden leading Trump among likely Colorado voters by 19 percentage points, though both presidential campaigns say the state will be among the election’s battlegrounds.

The same poll, conducted in early May by Democratic firms, found that 66% of voters held a favorable opinion of Polis, up from 50% last fall. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.