NASHUA – As votes were counted in New Hampshire, former Vice President Joe Biden opted to shift his attention to South Carolina.

The former vice president was in the Gate City early Tuesday, visiting Martha’s Exchange in downtown Nashua, but departed later in the day for the Palmetto State.

Early Tuesday, Biden’s Democratic presidential campaign said he and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, would travel to Columbia Tuesday night for a “launch” party. U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond is Biden’s campaign co-chairman and had already been planning to attend the event.

Biden addressed supporters at the Radisson in Nashua via livestream while his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, thanked the crowd in person in his stead.

Biden has a lot at stake in South Carolina, where he has led polling and has long relationships with the heavily black electorate. But other candidates including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and billionaire Tom Steyer have been campaigning hard in the state.

Biden says in a release he plans to travel later in the week to Nevada, which holds its caucus vote later this month.

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