MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Former Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Alabama next month to campaign for the Democrat in the U.S. Senate race.
Democrat Doug Jones' campaign announced Wednesday that Biden will headline an Oct. 3 rally in Birmingham.
Jones will face the Republican nominee, either current interim Sen. Luther Strange or Roy Moore, in the Dec. 12 special election for the U.S. Senate seat that previously belonged to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Jones is a lawyer and former U.S. attorney during the Clinton administration. He is perhaps best known for prosecuting Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for killing four black girls in the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church.
"I have seen Doug Jones' dedication to civil rights and social justice. From his time as U.S. attorney prosecuting the 16th Street Baptist Church bombers to his private life as an advocate for social justice and economic empowerment, Doug Jones is a proven leader in which we can place our trust," Biden said in a statement.
Biden joins a parade of national political figures getting involved in the Alabama race for the Senate seat.
President Donald Trump will visit the state Friday to campaign for Strange, who is locked in a tight battle with Moore for the GOP nomination. Vice President Mike Pence will be in the state Monday.
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is holding a rally on behalf of Moore in Montgomery on Thursday night.