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After announcing that he was weighing between endorsing Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Rep. Jim Clyburn has made his decision. Rep. Clyburn endorses Hillary Clinton

Rep. Jim Clyburn plans to endorse former Secretary Hillary Clinton for president on Friday at Allen University, according to three sources familiar with his thinking.

The endorsement — which has been in the works for a few days — is an expected but still important one for the Democratic front-runner, especially ahead of the South Carolina primary, which Clinton is hoping will give her a commanding victory over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Clyburn, the assistant democratic leader of congressional Democrats and an influential African-American political leader, had previously said that he was weighing whether to throw his endorsement toward either Clinton or Sanders. News of his pending endorsement was first reported by BuzzFeed News.

Clyburn's backing, while not completely surprising, is still significant for Clinton as Sanders closes the gap in state and national polls.

A Bloomberg Politics poll released Thursday found Clinton leading Sanders among South Carolina Democrats, 53 percent to 31 percent. But a Fox News poll released Thursday evening found Sanders leading Clinton nationally for the first time, 47 percent to 44 percent.

Clinton is particularly dependent on African-American voters in South Carolina, where they make up more than half of the state's Democratic electorate.

Gabriel Debenedetti contributed.