Kennedy to endorse Obama, officials say

In this Jan. 23, 2007, file photo, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. watch President Bush's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kennedy will endorse Obama for president, party officials confirmed on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008.

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL) greets a kitchen worker during his visit to Harper's Restaurant in Columbia, South Carolina, January 26, 2008, the day of South Carolina's Presidential Primary.

(Jason Reed/Reuters)

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer

MACON, Ga. - Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts will endorse Senate colleague Barack Obama for president, party officials confirmed Sunday.

The endorsement will be announced Monday in Washington, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the record. An official close to the senator said the announcement will be made during an Obama campaign rally at American University, where he will be joined by Sen. Kennedy and his niece, Caroline Kennedy, who also has endorsed Obama.

In a television interview Sunday, Obama would not answer questions about an endorsement from Kennedy.