Rumors are swirling this week at the prospect of Vice President Joe Biden entering the presidential fray following a not-so-secret weekend meeting with progressive darling Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). The president’s spokesman added to the speculation by heaping praise on Mr. Biden and added, “I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an endorsement in the Democratic primary.”
The current RealClearPolitics national average has Mr. Biden in third place with 12 percent. He is proceeded by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) who garners 49 percent, and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) who has 25 percent. Mr. Biden will not want to risk running for president without substantial support first. If his poll numbers get into the upper 30s, he’ll be more confident moving forward.
Leaking his meeting with Sen. Warren was a first step and a smart move. Being associated with or having a quasi-endorsement of one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party is a sure way to get a bump in the polls. While no one knows what the two discussed, the blogosphere is already in a tizzy over a possible game-changing Biden-Warren ticket.
In addition to monitoring his own poll numbers, the vice president is likely waiting to see what happens to Mrs. Clinton. In a recent Quinnipiac poll, almost 60 percent of respondents said Hillary Clinton is not honest and trustworthy – including 19 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of Independents. If Clinton’s poll numbers continue to worsen, it will make Mr. Biden’s decision to enter the race much easier.
In the end, it will be the candidate and his family who have the final say – not the voters, media, and pundits. The vice president’s eldest son Beau had one dying wish for his father before losing his fight against brain cancer. According to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, “[Beau] had a mission: He tried to make his father promise to run, arguing that the White House should not revert to the Clintons and that the country would be better off with Biden values.” Mr. Biden’s other son, Hunter, has also urged him to run although his wife remains reluctant at the moment.
If the vice president decides to move forward with a presidential campaign, it will be his third attempt for our nation’s highest office having run unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1988 and 2008.
For more information, please contact David Ashinoff at ashinoffd@agc.org or (202) 547-5013.