Joe Biden heading to SC next week to campaign for James Smith

Former Vice President Joe Biden will return to South Carolina on Wednesday to campaign for James Smith, Democratic nominee for governor, a source close to the Smith campaign confirmed on Saturday.

Biden will participate in a fundraiser in Charleston Wednesday afternoon, the source said.

It was not immediately clear where the fundraiser will be and who is hosting it. Guests will include former Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, and Rosalyn Glenn, Democratic candidate for S.C. treasurer.

Biden’s support could prove helpful to Smith and his running mate, state Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell of Lancaster, in November, when he faces Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.

Biden — often described by Smith as a mentor — endorsed Smith, 51, early, months before the state’s June primaries.

The pair have long been friends, connected, in part, by Smith’s military service. Biden’s late son, Beau, was an Iraq war veteran. He died in 2015 as a result of brain cancer.

“I’ve know James for a long time – he and my son Beau were kindred spirits,” Biden wrote in an email from the group American Possibilities in January. “Both of them are all about honor, duty, and bringing people together – not tearing the house down.”

The former Delaware senator is the latest possible 2020 presidential hopeful with plans to come through the Palmetto State.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. will join the Orangeburg County Democratic Party at its annual fundraiser in October. At least five other possible Democratic hopefuls are rumored to swing through South Carolina in the next three weeks to help Smith and other Democrats campaign and, at the same time, raise their own prospects.

Biden is expected to announce in January whether he plans to run for president in 2020.

Biden has endorsed other S.C. Democrats hoping to turn their district’s seat blue.

On Thursday, he officially endorsed Joe Cunningham, Democratic nominee for the state’s 1st District Congressional race against Republican state Rep. Katie Arrington.

In August, Biden endorsed his longtime friend and former S.C. Democratic Party chairman Dick Hartpootlian, who is running for the state’s Senate District 20 seat.

After Smith’s fundraiser, Biden is slated to campaign alongside Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s Democratic nominee for governor, on Thursday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

This story was originally published September 22, 2018 at 4:34 PM.