Joe Biden says he believes he can win Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas in 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden is setting his sights on states no Democratic candidate for president has won in decades.

Biden during a presidential forum on Monday was asked when he'll spend time in the south during his 2020 campaign, to which he responded, "I plan on campaigning in the south. I plan on, if I'm your nominee, winning Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, believe it or not."

During the 2016 election, President Trump won Georgia by about five percentage points, and no Democrat has won the state since Bill Clinton in 1992. It's been even longer since a Democrat won South Carolina: the last one to do so was Jimmy Carter in 1976; Trump won the state in 2016 by 14 percentage points. North Carolina went to a Democrat more recently, though: Barack Obama won it in 2008. In 2016, Trump won North Carolina by almost four percentage points.

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Biden also set his sights on Texas, another state no Democrat has won since Carter in 1976. "I believe we can win Texas and Florida if you look at the polling data now," Biden said. Some recent polls have showed Biden ahead of Trump in the state. Florida went to Trump in 2016 after going for Obama in 2012.

The former vice president also received a question from MSNBC's Joy Reid during this event about how he plans to work with Republicans, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), responding that "I know you're one of the ones who thinks it's naive to say we have to work together" but promising he'll be able to "persuade the public" and adding that "you can shame people to do things the right way." Brendan Morrow