Biden says Steyer’s spending to blame for dip in African American support

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday attributed his eroding support among African Americans in South Carolina to billionaire Tom Steyer's massive spending in the state.

"What's happening is you have Steyer spending hundreds of millions, tens of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars, out campaigning there," Biden said on CBS' "Face the Nation." 

"So, I think a lot is happening in terms of the amount of money being spent by the billionaires to try to cut into the African American vote," he added. "I think that has a lot to do with it."

"South Carolina happens to be a place that has a pretty high concentration of African Americans. And those happen to be people that I talked to a lot and have a lot of — a long history of working with, and, therefore, that's a population where I do really well," Steyer added.

Saturday’s South Carolina primary is crucial for Biden's campaign, after fourth- and fifth-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively. The former president did, however, register a second-place finish in Nevada on Saturday with strong turnout among African Americans.