Patrick to back Obama's campaign

Governor Deval Patrick will throw his support behind Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential campaign, an endorsement that could give the Illinois senator a boost in the crucial New Hampshire primary and may help Obama blunt some of Senator Hillary Clinton's recent success in winning African-American support.

Administration officials confirmed that the governor called Obama yesterday to pledge his endorsement, and Patrick's volunteers began working out the details of a public rally in Boston Tuesday.

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Patrick also called Clinton yesterday to break the news that he would endorse her opponent. Patrick has strong ties to the New York senator from serving as a Justice Department official during the Clinton administration. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton had lobbied Patrick for his endorsement.

Patrick chose Obama because the governor believes the country is hungry for a fresh leadership style, one that stirs up strong voter enthusiasm, Patrick administration officials said.

The most immediate advantage for Obama is Patrick's ability to dispatch volunteers, who were a major factor in his gubernatorial victory last year, to New Hampshire to campaign. Patrick sent e-mail last night to 40,000 workers and supporters, informing them of his decision.

Many national and state polls suggest Clinton is in the lead and Obama has stalled in a distant second place. And recent polls indicate that Clinton has built a lead of more than 20 percentage points over him among the Granite State's Democratic primary voters.

Political specialists said the value of the endorsement will depend on what Patrick can deliver in terms of Massachusetts volunteers willing to travel to New Hampshire on weekends to knock on doors. The Massachusetts governor's endorsement, on its own, doesn't count for much in the Granite State, said Dante Scala, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire.

"Patrick's ultimate value will be in terms of people power, because typically in New Hampshire, endorsements by out-of-state political figures don't hold a lot of weight," he said.

Patrick's endorsement could count highly in southern New Hampshire communities that are oriented to Massachusetts and, in particular, Boston-based media. Those areas have a large population of voters who could be open to a pro-Obama message, Scala said.

Patrick is expected to argue in the coming weeks that Obama can lead a "generational call," a rally to inspire young voters to rebuild the country and restore its standing around the world. Patrick feels that the issue of Obama's relative inexperience is overblown, administration officials said.

Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University, said Patrick's endorsement will be significant because it will reinforce Obama's most potent weapon: his broad-based appeal to voters.

"For Obama, a Patrick endorsement is another sign there is a new, young generation of dynamic black leaders who can appeal across racial and partisan lines," Berry said.

Patrick and Obama have traveled similar personal and career paths. Both have roots in Chicago, hold Harvard law degrees, and have emerged in the past several years as the principal figures in a new generation of African-American political leaders. Both have passionate grass-roots support.

They met when Obama was a civil rights lawyer in Chicago and Patrick was head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Obama campaigned for Patrick several times during the governor's race, raising money for him in Chicago in late 2005, when Patrick's gubernatorial bid looked like a longshot. They dined together recently on Martha's Vineyard at the home of a friend.

"We understand they have been longstanding friends and they share the same strategists," said Mo Elleithee, a Clinton campaign press spokesman.

There could be some limits on Patrick's time to campaign. Patrick's first-year agenda is on the line on Beacon Hill until the legislative session ends Nov. 21. Patrick will also miss a week in December when he leads a Massachusetts trade mission to China.

New Hampshire lawmakers are considering whether to move the state's primary election to as early as Dec. 11. If not, the primary will be held in early January.

A recent CNN poll suggests Clinton holds a significant lead over Obama among black voters. Just last week, the New York senator pulled off a coup when US Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia and a hero of the civil rights movement, endorsed her.

Scott Helman of the Globe staff contributed to this report.