Before heading back to Washington D.C. at the end of the Memorial Day recess, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed state Senate candidate Mark Leno at a Saturday rally in San Francisco.

“I’ve known Mark for a long time,” Pelosi said to cheers. “I’ve known about his leadership. I have confidence in him as a fighter for Democratic principles.”

Leno, an Assemblyman, if facing off in a Tuesday primary against fellow Democrats Carole Migden, the incumbent, and Joe Nation, a former Assemblyman.

“We have three candidates in the race and it’s just because of the superior confidence I have for Mark Leno that I am here today,” said Pelosi.

In an attempt to diminish the endorsement, Nation said the endorsement was “simply about another political powerbroker trying to keep this seat in San Francisco.”