Keegan-Michael Key set to announce support for Pete Buttigieg in Nevada

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Key is expected to appear at early voting locations Saturday before joining a canvass kick off in Las Vegas, according to the campaign. He is then expected to introduce Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, on stage at a Sunday rally.

“With his extraordinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging talent in both comedy and drama; Emmy and Peabody Award-winning writer, actor, and producer Keegan-Michael Key is one of Hollywood’s most in-demand forces,” the Buttigieg campaign told CNN on Saturday. The announcement comes a week before voters head to the polls en masse in Nevada — the third 2020 nominating contest.

Key isn’t new to politics.

In his Comedy Central Show “Key and Peele,” which ran for five seasons, Key and his comedy partner Jordan Peele featured a recurring sketch parodying former President Barack Obama and his “anger translator,” Luther, portrayed by Key, a man who was able to express the irritations Obama felt, but was unable to convey as President. The sketch was so popular that Key, in character as Luther, joined Obama onstage at the 2015 White House Correspondent’s Dinner to help deliver Obama’s remarks.

Key also endorsed Sen. Doug Jones, when Jones ran as the Alabama Democratic nominee for US Senate in the 2017 special election.

In a 2016, the actor and comedian expressed ambivalence when asked if he’d lampoon then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“We’ve almost reached the point of the sublime,” Key told the Huffington Post at the time. “It’s so ridiculous we’ve almost reached the point of the sublime — in regards to the political landscape right now. I’m not sure Jordan and I could make what’s happening any funnier.”

Buttigieg has picked up other celebrity endorsements. Actor Kevin Costner — the star of “Field of Dreams” and “Dances With Wolves” — endorsed the former mayor in Iowa in December, and singer and actress Mandy Moore and actor Michael J. Fox have stumped for Buttigieg in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively.

Buttigieg has also gained the support of three former Obama administration officials and has earned a number of congressional endorsements, including from Rep. Dave Loebsack of Iowa, Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, Rep. Anthony Brown of Maryland, retiring Rep. Pete Visclosky of Indiana, Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York and Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia.

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