WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg has received his first endorsement from a member of Congress.

Three-term Democratic Rep. Don Beyer (BY’-er) of Virginia told The Washington Post on Wednesday that he’s backing the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Beyer says he started off as “a huge skeptic.” But he says Buttigieg won him over through a series of interviews.

Beyer says, “I think he’s the most articulate of all the candidates we have.” He says Buttigieg communicates “better than anyone I’ve seen since Barack Obama.”

Beyer was an early backer of Obama in 2007 and knocked on doors for his campaign in Iowa. He says he’ll do the same for Buttigieg.

Buttigieg is a Rhodes scholar and former Navy Reserve officer who served in Afghanistan.