In this Friday, July 23, 2010, file photo, Vice President Joe Biden chats with former U.S. Sen. Ernest Fritz Hollings during the dedication ceremony of the new Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library in Columbia, S.C. Home to the first-in-the-South primaries, South Carolina is accustomed to the parade of presidential candidates who frequent the state in hopes of boosting their national credibility. But, with eager Democrats’ open 2020 contest, that competition has begun here early, with candidates lining up visits with a frequency accelerated from years past. Biden, who has said it’ll be at least January before he decides about 2020, has been keeping an elevated profile in South Carolina this midterm cycle, even for him. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File) **FILE**
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