Make no mistake, District of Columbia — Michael Bloomberg would absolutely cast his ballot for D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty this September.

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If only he could.

"I think that Washington D.C. is really lucky to have this guy, " Bloomberg said.

The mayor of New York City on Tuesday traveled more than 200 miles from his own polling place to offer his support for Fenty, a longtime ally who is slogging his way through a tough reelection campaign this summer.

"Washington D.C. needs Adrian Fenty for four more years," Bloomberg said.

Speaking at an Italian restaurant in the District’s Penn Quarter on Tuesday afternoon, Bloomberg said it was a "pleasure to be here to support a dynamic mayor."

Fenty has long been considered an ally of Bloomberg and visited the New York mayor in 2006. He has borrowed some of Bloomberg’s ideas and platforms for his own administration, including his workspace arrangement and focus on education reform via mayoral takeover of the system.

"We appreciate this endorsement and if it means anything, i think it means that the people who are running the biggest cities in this country and know the issues and know the challenges best, believe that we're doing a good job," Fenty said.

Fenty is facing a seemingly tough primary with D.C. Council Chairman Vince Gray. In a statement released Monday night, Gray campaign strategist Mo Elleithee said the chairman’s camp was “happy to concede the Manhattan vote” to Fenty.

"I think people are much more focused on the issues here and the people that they think can solve those issues here," Gray said Tuesday. "We have our own issues, we'll continue to focus on those. And I think at the end of the day, it will be nice to have a visit from the New York City mayor, but I think people are going to be focused on what's happening here."

The D.C. mayoral primary is Sept. 14.