The District of Columbia should become the 51st state in the nation, the city’s mayor said Friday.

During a breakfast speech, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told lawmakers and city residents that the District deserves representation in Congress, and she called for a city-wide vote on the issue.

{mosads}“I propose we take another bold step toward democracy in the District of Columbia,” Bowser said at the breakfast, according to The Washington Post.

“It’s going to require that we send a bold message to the Congress and the rest of the country, that we demand not only a vote in the House of Representatives. We demand two senators — the full rights of citizenship in this great nation,” she added.

This could up the pressure on lawmakers to recognize the District as a state. 

Last summer, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), and currently a Democratic presidential candidate, joined statehood calls for the District.

Currently, D.C. is represented by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) in Congress, but she does not get a vote on the House floor.

In November, Bowser would like the city’s residents to be allowed to vote on whether to adopt statehood, though such a change is unlikely and faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Congress. 

“Some in Congress say … the reason why D.C. residents can’t have full access to the franchise is because of too many Democrats,” said Bowser, according to The Post. “Can you believe that? Do you think access to democracy is a Democratic or Republican issue? No, it’s an American issue.”