SOMERVILLE -- Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today endorsed consumer advocate and U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren during a meeting with Warren’s grassroots supporters at her campaign headquarters in Somerville.

"The American Dream defines what it means to be American. Yet for too many people in the Commonwealth today the American Dream is up for grabs. Elizabeth has lived the American Dream and knows that it is worth fighting for," said Governor Patrick in an email to supporters today. "She understands that government has a role to play, not in solving every problem in every person's life, but in helping people help themselves. We need her thoughtful, pragmatic, compassionate, and reasoned voice in the Senate now to restore that Dream and help put it back in reach of all Americans."

In his email, Governor Patrick also called on his supporters to join the already strong grassroots momentum driving Elizabeth’s campaign for middle class families.

Warren said, "Governor Patrick has led Massachusetts with a strong belief in the importance of social justice, generational responsibility, and the politics of conviction, not convenience. I am deeply honored to receive his endorsement, and I look forward to working with Governor Patrick to create a level playing field for working families and to give all people across the Commonwealth a fair shot at success."

Warren is widely credited with the idea for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and she served as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury in 2010 and 2011, with the authority to set up the consumer agency. Warren also served as Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Oversight Panel. For her clear and fearless oversight efforts on behalf of the American people, Time Magazine named her one of the "New Sheriffs of Wall Street," and the Boston Globe named her Bostonian of the Year in 2009.