COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joe Biden was greeted by a carousel of South Carolina political figures and supporters Friday at a state Democratic Party fundraiser.

The former vice president, one of roughly two dozen people vying for the Democratic nomination to address the South Carolina Democratic Party convention this weekend, joined party faithful and 18 other fellow candidates at the Blue Palmetto Dinner.

Biden shook hands and posed for selfies at steady intervals through the two-hour-plus event, tickets to which cost about $100. Roughly 1,000 people were in attendance.

"I got my Joe time," one man said after his turn with the former vice president. At one point, he snapped a photo with a tall blonde woman, his hand clenched on the small of her back.

Reporters were eventually ushered away from Biden's table, with only security and select staff allowed to remain. South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Trav Robertson, from the podium, told the crowd near Biden they were preventing waiters from serving the rest of the guests their meals.

Biden's persistent popularity in the early-voting state comes after he got blowback for touting on the campaign trail his work with noted segregationists while serving Delaware in the Senate.

The Blue Palmetto Dinner, a signature event on the South Carolina political calendar, was keynoted by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., and attended by Jesse Jackson, himself a former presidential prospect.

"This weekend isn’t about selfies or endorsements; and it isn’t about bus tours or rallies. It isn’t about us," Bustos said, according to her prepared remarks. "It’s all about the people we’re fighting for."

Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., also spoke at the gathering, offering some advice to the White House hopefuls in the room.

"Let's keep the infighting to a minimum and our eyes on the prize," Cunningham said.