Hours after Sen. Bernie Sanders announced details of his presidential campaign kickoff on the Burlington waterfront next week, Gov. Peter Shumlin weighed in with an announcement of his own.

Shumlin used his campaign Twitter account to throw his endorsement behind Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. It was his first post on the campaign account @petershumlin since Election Day.

A spokesperson for Shumlin explained the governor’s support for Clinton.

“Hillary Clinton has been fighting her whole life for everyday Americans and the governor believes she is the right person to lead America as the next president of the United States,” Scott Coriell, a Shumlin aide, said by email on Wednesday afternoon.

Shumlin follows in the steps of one of Vermont’s other leading politicos. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has also said publicly that he will not back Sanders’ presidential bid.

Still, Shumlin gave a good word for the junior senator from Vermont.

“The Governor has tremendous respect for Senator Sanders and thinks his voice will focus this campaign on the issues that really matter to Vermonters and Americans,” Coriell said.

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Twitter: @emhew. Elizabeth Hewitt is the Sunday editor for VTDigger. She grew up in central Vermont and holds a graduate degree in magazine journalism from New York University.