Former Vice President Joe Biden picked up a critical endorsement ahead of Super Tuesday.
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, announced he was backing Biden ahead of the critical March 3 Super Tuesday contest, when Virginia, 13 other states and entities, and American Samoa hold presidential primaries.
Kaine is the sixth senator to announce support for Biden, who represented Delaware in the chamber for 36 years before his two terms as President Barack Obama’s vice president.
In an announcement Friday, Kaine compared Biden with President Harry Truman, “an outwardly ordinary man whose work ethic, faith in the goodness of everyday Americans, and love of country made him a great president.”
Biden said in a statement that he had won the endorsement of 45 House Democratic lawmakers, who along with Senate Democrats, make up an important group of superdelegates who could end up deciding the nomination if none of the candidates wins 1,991 “pledged” delegates in the caucus and primary contests.
Kaine’s endorsement could prove to be critical for Biden.
Polling in Virginia has been limited but shows Biden trailing Sen. Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist considered the front-runner.
A liberal-leaning polling outlet, Data for Progress, found Sanders ahead of Biden, 28% to 19% in a late Feb. 25 survey.
But a Monmouth University poll conducted a week earlier found Sanders tied with Bloomberg at 22% and Biden trailing in third place with 18%.
Kaine cited Biden’s role as Obama’s vice president in his statement of support.
“Vice President Biden worked hand in hand with President Obama to rescue the American economy from catastrophe, expand healthcare 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,” Kaine said. “As a senator, I saw first hand Joe’s role in these accomplishments.”
Polls show Biden poised to win the South Carolina primary on Saturday, which would mark his first victory in any contest so far.
