LEWISTON – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday picked up the support of one of Maine’s former governors.

Independent Angus King, who served two terms ending in 2003, endorsed Obama on Friday.

King, who is in the wind power business, said Obama would “put America on the path to energy independence and provide immediate relief for families hard hit by the high cost of gas and home heating oil.”

King was joined former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, a Democrat, and Sherry Huber, who co-chairs Maine Republicans for Obama.

The three made the announcement at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College.

Mark Ellis, chairman of the Maine Republican Party, said King’s endorsement of Obama came as no surprise.

“We fully expected Gov. King to endorse whomever the Democrats nominated for president,” he said in a statement. “Indeed, Gov. King presided over a massive expansion of our state budget that has idled the Maine economy for over a decade.