Former President Obama threw his support Monday behind former Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, including the Colorado Democrats in the first round of candidates he is endorsing in high-profile state and federal races around the country.

“I’m proud to endorse this diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic, and highly qualified Democrats,” Obama said in an announcement on Twitter.

Hickenlooper is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner in a race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate after the November elections, and Crow is defending the suburban 6th Congressional District seat he won two years ago by defeating five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman.

In all, Obama endorsed 118 candidates in 17 states.

“Together, these candidates will help us redeem our country’s promise by sticking up for working class people, restoring fairness and opportunity to our system, and fighting for the good of all Americans – not just those at the top,” Obama said in a post on Medium.

“They make me optimistic not just about our party’s chances in November, but about our country’s future long after that.”

He urged their constituents to “vote early – by mail or in person,” if they’re able to.

“It means the world to me to have your support,” Hickenlooper tweeted.

In a Monday morning email to supporters, Hickenlooper said he was proud what he and Obama accomplished when both were in office, including expanding health care to hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, implementing the Clean Power Plan to curb emissions and regulating methane emissions.

“We worked together, and put people first – the exact opposite of what’s happening in Washington right now,” Hickenlooper added. “Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell and Cory Gardner have failed the American people. We have to stop them in November.”

After endorsing each other last year, in February Trump thanked Gardner at a Colorado Springs rally for supporting him “100%,” in a line Democrats have repeated in ads linking the two Republicans in a state where the president’s favorability is underwater.

Crow, who is facing a challenge from former state Republican Party chairman Steve House, said on Twitter: “I’m proud to have the support and endorsement of @barackObama. This is the election of our lifetime. As we tackle the greatest crisis in generations, integrity and character matter more than ever, but I need your support to win.”

Obama backed four additional U.S. Senate candidates, including the Democrats challenging incumbents in three other seats rated by the Cook Political Report as “toss-up,” like Colorado’s: Theresa Greenfield, running against U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst in Iowa; Sara Gideon, hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in Maine; and Cal Cunningham, taking on U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina. He also supported Jaime Harrison, the Democrat facing U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina.

In 2018, Obama notched a perfect record endorsing Colorado candidates, when all 24 of the Democrats he backed in the state won their races – including Crow, the gubernatorial ticket of Jared Polis and Dianne Primavera, attorney general nominee Phil Weiser, secretary of state nominee Jena Griswold and state treasurer nominee David Young.

In addition, Obama endorsed 2nd Congressional District candidate Joe Neguse, four state Senate candidates and 13 state House candidates, who were all elected in the Democratic wave year.

The lone Colorado candidate Trump endorsed in the last election, Republican gubernatorial nominee Walker Stapleton, lost to Polis.