Because he believes Barack Obama is a "once-in-a- lifetime leader", New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced he decided to endorse the Democratic presidential candidate.

Richardson, the only Hispanic governor in the U.S., will appear side by side with the Illinois Senator at 12:30 p.m. on Friday at a campaign event in Portland, Ore., according to The Associated Press.

He said that he strongly believes Obama is then only one capable of uniting the nation and restoring the U.S. international leadership.

Obama could be an "historic and a great President, who can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad," said Richardson in an email to supporters.

The New Mexico governor who dropped out of the Democratic race in January said he was very impressed by Obama’s speech on the racial issues in America. Richardson said that Obama would be a great American leader because he "understands clearly that only by bringing people together, only by bridging our differences can we all succeed together as Americans."

"As a presidential candidate, I know full well Sen. Obama's unique moral ability to inspire the American people to confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad in a spirit of bipartisanship and reconciliation," said Richardson according to AP.

Obama held the race speech after his former pastor from Chicago made some race-related remarks over Sen. Hillary Clinton. That mistake cost the pastor his job in the presidential campaign. The latest national polls show that Clinton pulled ahead of Obama following the pastor’s incendiary sermons. Nevertheless, Obama still has a slight lead in the race for delegates over the former first lady.

This could be a major turn of events in the race for the Democratic presidency nomination. So far, most Hispanics voted for Clinton, but with Richardson endorsing Obama, the trend could change in the latter’s favor. The New Mexico governor could also bring other delegates to Obama’s side and he was also mentioned as a potential running mate for either candidate.

He chose to support Obama despite strong ties with the Clintons. Richardson was the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and secretary of the Energy Department during the Bill Clinton’s administration. The two watched the Super Bowl together at Richardson’s residence in Santa Fe.