The Latest: Buttigieg cancels event with S. Carolina mayors

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on the Democratic presidential primary contest (all times local):

12:25 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has canceled a campaign stop with small-town mayors in South Carolina that some of the invited mayors were unable to attend.

Fairfax Mayor Dorothy Riley said she showed up for Friday's event in her town because she didn't know it was canceled. The event was aimed at discussing small-town concerns in South Carolina’s rural black communities and planned for a soul food restaurant in her town in the western part of the state.

The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor’s campaign sent a news release three hours before the scheduled start time advising that he had canceled the event because of “scheduling constraints.”

Some campaign aides said privately that some of the invited mayors declined to attend after South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress, endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal scheduling matters.

Buttigieg’s national communications director Chris Meagher disputed the assertion.

— By Thomas Beaumont

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11:15 a.m.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia is announcing his support for Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primary, a show of support from a former vice presidential nominee ahead of next week's Super Tuesday contests.

In a release Friday, Kaine calls Biden a man of "exemplary heart, character, and experience" who reminds him of "Harry S. Truman, an outwardly ordinary man whose work ethic, faith in the goodness of everyday Americans, and love of country made him a great President."

Kaine stood as Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 election. His backing comes a day before South Carolina's primary, in which Biden needs a strong showing going into next week's vote, in which a massive haul of delegates is at stake.

Biden has led surveys in South Carolina, where Saturday's contest could be his first primary victory in three runs at the White House.