State representative Brady Walkinshaw (D-43, Capitol Hill), currently the only official candidate running for retiring (and iconic) Seattle U.S. representative  Jim McDermott's seat (D-WA, 7), announced some major endorsements today.

Most important, with this morning's chatter about heavy hitter state senator Pramila Jayapal (D-37, Southeast Seattle) "seriously considering" running for the spot, Walkinshaw rolled out an endorsement from new Seattle city council member Lorena González. Not only does González give Walkinshaw serious credibility with the social justice community that Jayapal represents, but González is the former board president of OneAmerica, the civil rights group that Jayapal founded and ran for more than ten years. Walkinshaw is Cuban-American and González, the first Latina elected to the Seattle city council (!?) (right?), is the daughter of Mexican migrant farm workers from outside Yakima.

Walkinshaw also announced today that veteran city council member Tim Burgess has endorsed him. The political optics of a  Burgess endorsement are also powerful for Walkinshaw. Burgess is seen as mainstream and "establishment." The one-two punch of González and Burgess endorsements establishes Walkinshaw as a candidate with broad appeal. And it puts the supposed line of candidates who are thinking about getting in the race on notice that 31-year-old Walkinshaw, who announced yesterday that he's already raised $233,000 in one month of campaigning, is formidable.

Political consultant Christian Sinderman works for Walkinshaw,  González, and Burgess.