Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday to join Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) in filing paperwork for President Joe Biden to appear on the state's Democratic presidential primary ballot.
Biden elevated South Carolina in the Democratic nominating calendar after the state saved his 2020 primary hopes in the last Super Tuesday. Clyburn's endorsement and the support of black voters were integral to Biden's wins in the state following dismal performances in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire and Nevada primaries.
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Harris and Clyburn will file the paperwork shortly after 10 a.m., according to White House officials.
"South Carolina Democrats represent the backbone of the Democratic Party and propelled Joe Biden to the Democratic nomination and eventually the White House. The president is honored to have Vice President Harris and his campaign co-chair Congressman Clyburn officially make him a candidate, once again, in what is now proudly the first-in-the-nation primary," Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said in a statement. "The Biden-Harris coalition will be out in full force in South Carolina and will be how we defeat MAGA extremism once again in 2024."
Biden's elevation of South Carolina, seen as rewarding black voters for backing his 2020 candidacy, has drawn an unforeseen consequence in the form of another primary challenger.
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) announced his campaign for president just days after Biden announced that he would not appear on the ballot in New Hampshire's rogue primary.
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Despite Biden and the Democratic National Committee's alterations to the primary calendar, New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan, citing a state law mandating New Hampshire hold the first presidential primary in the nation, announced that the state won't comply with the DNC primary schedule.
Though the winner of New Hampshire's primary is not expected to receive any delegates at the Democratic National Convention next summer if the Biden-backed rules are followed, there's still a chance that a strong showing from Phillips, or any of the other 20 candidates appearing on the primary ballot, could undercut support for Biden throughout the cycle.