The political arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus is following U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García’s lead in backing the Southwest Side Democrat’s former chief of staff to succeed him in the House next year.

The caucus’s political action committee on Tuesday endorsed Democratic nominee Patty García as its candidate in what’s expected to be a crowded field on the Nov. 3 ballot to represent Illinois’ 4th Congressional District. Patty García, who isn’t related to the congressman, could face as many as five opponents in the November general election, including three fellow Democrats planning to run as independents.

In a statement announcing the endorsement, the caucus’s co-chairs, Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Greg Casar of Texas and Maxwell Frost of Florida, called Patty García “an experienced and capable public servant driven to make government responsive to the people it is supposed to serve” and cited her support for progressive policies such as enacting “Medicare for All” health insurance coverage, “abolishing” the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and “making the wealthy pay their fair share in order to build an economy that works for all of us.”

“The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Patty García is a trusted advocate in her community who has served for over a decade and a half alongside and on behalf of immigrant and working-class families,” the statement said.

The endorsement comes as Patty García has faced criticism, including from some on the left, over an old-school insider maneuver Rep. García used to effectively hand her an uncontested spot on the March 17 Democratic primary ballot. After filing to run for reelection, the congressman waited to announce he had changed his mind until the deadline for other candidates to submit nominating petitions for the partisan primary had expired. Patty García filed to run for the seat on the same final day of filing, so when Rep. García dropped out, she was the only remaining candidate for the Democratic Party nomination.

As a member of the progressive caucus PAC’s board, Rep. García also played a role in his former chief of staff receiving the group’s endorsement, but Patty García said in an interview that she had to go through the same evaluation process as any other candidate seeking the PAC’s nod. That includes support from a majority of the PAC’s leadership, including Rep. García’s longtime ally, Rep. Delia Ramirez of the neighboring 3rd Congressional District, and from a majority of the caucus’s nearly 100 members. Multiple candidates in the 4th District race sought the endorsement, a source familiar with the process said.

“This is not something that one member alone can get done,” said Patty García, who added that she has strong working relationships with progressives in Congress from her time working with the congressman in both his government and political roles.

The endorsement “means the world to me because it is a reminder of the movement that has been shaping me all along, that I don’t come by myself,” she said, referring to the political organization Rep. García has helped build since he was an ally of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington in the 1980s. “I come from a strong, progressive community that has been around for over 40 years and has shaped national politics beyond Chicago.”

Patty García also has the support of other Illinois members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including Reps. Jonathan Jackson of Chicago, and major union organizations such as the Illinois AFL-CIO and the Chicago Federation of Labor.

The progressive PAC’s endorsement comes about three weeks after one of García’s potential November rivals got the backing of a key Democratic-aligned organization.

In late April, the political arm of the abortion rights group Planned Parenthood announced its endorsement of Democratic operative Mayra Macías, who is running as an independent and has criticized the ballot maneuver that cleared the primary field for Patty García. Macías, until recently, served on the Planned Parenthood Action Fund board.

Macías’ campaign on Monday announced it had collected the nearly 11,000 petition signatures she’ll need to qualify for a spot on the November ballot. May 18 is the first day independent candidates can submit their nominating petitions to the State Board of Elections. The final deadline day is May 26.

Other Democrats expected to mount independent campaigns in the Latino-majority 4th District, which stretches from Pilsen to Oak Brook and from Franklin Park to Burbank, include progressive Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho-López, 25th, and Lyons Mayor Chris Getty.

Republican Lupe Castillo and Ed Hershey of the Working Class Party, both of whom unsuccessfully challenged Rep. García when he ran for a fourth term in 2024, also will appear on the November ballot.