Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said on Friday he is endorsing former vice president Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kaine was the 2016 vice-presidential nominee.
The endorsement comes ahead of Saturday's South Carolina primary and Virginia's Democratic Primary on Super Tuesday on March 3.
Polls show Biden holding a double-digit lead in the S.C. primary.
He could see strong support from Virginians on Super Tuesday, according to a new poll that was just released by Christopher Newport University.
The findings show that 22 percent of likely voters will throw their weight behind Biden. Following at close range is Bernie Sanders who is preferred by 17 percent of voters, while 13 percent stand behind Mike Bloomberg.
In his announcement, Sen. Kaine said the U.S. deserves better in the Oval Office.
“Democrats have many good public servants and admirable people running for President. I will vote in the Virginia presidential primary for Joe Biden," Kaine said in the news release.
"Barack Obama wisely chose Joe as his partner in the White House, and for eight years, Vice President Biden worked hand-in-hand with President Obama to rescue the American economy from catastrophe, expand health care to millions of people, revive creative diplomacy to keep Americans safe, tackle global challenges like climate change, and appoint high-quality people across the executive and judicial branches of our government. As a Senator, I saw first-hand Joe’s role in these accomplishments."
Kaine said Biden has an exemplary heart, character, and experience.