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ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden will attend a fundraiser in Columbia next week for South Carolina's longest-serving congressman.

The Herald of Rock Hill reports Biden will be the featured guest at a fundraiser July 23 for U.S. Rep. John Spratt.

A spokesman for the 5th District incumbent says Biden was already scheduled to be in Columbia and offered to appear, and Spratt is grateful for the gesture.

Biden is speaking at the dedication of the new Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library at the University of South Carolina. Biden and the former senator served together for 32 years before Hollings retired in 2005.

Spratt's GOP challenger, state Sen. Mick Mulvaney, says Biden's visit is the latest sign of the White House's support for the House Budget Committee chairman.

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