Buttigieg, he added, is a promising candidate who came into a black-owned restaurant and demonstrated a level of earnestness, humility and tenacity as he took on tough questions.

But Kimpson said the citizens in his district were most comfortable with Biden, whom they believe has the best chance to defeat President Donald Trump in November.

“At the end of the day, while there were some candidates who performed better in the town hall setting with respect to energy and enthusiasm, the key question for us is winning this election,” Kimpson said. “And I firmly believe that Vice President Biden gives us our best chance to win and return the country back to some sense of normalcy so that we can plan a trajectory for progressive ideas in the future.”

“In my view,” he continued, “the revolution can wait for a moment. We need to win this election, and that’s the main focus.”

South Carolina state Sen. Marlon Kimpson. | Meg Kinnard/AP Photo

Kimpson, who said he grew tired of standing on the sideline, cast Biden as an experienced leader who can unite the country and help other Democrats win down-ballot. The Biden campaign expects him to play a critical role as a top surrogate in South Carolina, where Kimpson said his mandate is to “win big.”

“It’d be nice if he comes in the top tier in Iowa and New Hampshire, but quite frankly my job is to put up big numbers in South Carolina,” he said of Biden. “And I believe given the demographics of the states following South Carolina heading into Super Tuesday, that gives him the pole position to sew up the nomination.”

Biden is currently third in Iowa and second in New Hampshire, according to RealClearPolitics’ average of recent surveys. But he holds a double-digit lead in South Carolina, where Biden has a massive advantage among black voters, who made up about 60 percent of the Democratic electorate in 2016.

Kimpson is the 15th state lawmaker to back Biden, who also has support from more than 100 faith leaders across South Carolina.

“While obviously the Biden team would like to win both of those states, I think it’s a whole different election when it comes to South Carolina,” Kimpson said. “But if he is successful in those two states … if he comes in the top tier — top one or two in those two states — then this race could be very well over after South Carolina.”

Still, Kimpson cautioned that the campaign won’t take anything for granted, noting that anything can happen before the state holds its primary late next month and that it’s unclear how billionaire Michael Bloomberg could affect the race with his personal fortune.

Kimpson attributed Biden’s dominant standing in South Carolina polls to reliable voters being wary of “experimenting this time” and simply wanting someone who is ready to walk into the White House and do the job on Day One.

POLITICO NEWSLETTERS POLITICO Playbook Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics. Sign Up Loading By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

After spending a full day with Biden, Kimpson said he left impressed with the 77-year-old’s energy and the seriousness and preparedness of the ex-vice president’s team.

“In addition to a pretty rigorous schedule — I had to go home and rest and he kept going — what was refreshing about that day is he actually had advisers with policy notebooks. There were real people who had experience in the given fields of expertise,” Kimpson said. “There was a pen and a pad and a notecard. There was a Gatorade, not an energy drink. That was real impressive, given the level of energy that Mr. Biden showed, as well as his focus to the bread-and-butter issues and nuts and bolts of the old-school campaigning.”

“I’m sorry this isn’t really sexy,” he said of his endorsement process. “But it is what it is.”