Watch Out Clinton! Reports Say Biden Decision Imminent
Fueling speculation, Biden privately met with Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Saturday
With 14 percent support among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters in July, Biden still trails Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton (47 percent) and her leading challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders (29 percent).(Photo: Marc Nozell/cc/flickr)
The political rumor mill is abuzz with news that Vice President Joe Biden may soon join the race for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, after reports suggested such a decision is imminent.
Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the vice president is currently "weighing multiple political, financial and family considerations," and that "conversations about the possibility were a prominent feature of an August stay in South Carolina and his home in Delaware last week."
Also spurring speculation was a private meeting on Saturday between Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a favorite of the party's left flank. Warren has yet to endorse any of the current Democratic contenders for the presidential bid and the reaction to their meeting indicated that Biden could be hoping to capitalize on some of her ideas and popularity among progressives.
However, as author and Nation columnist Greg Mitchell pointed out, such theories ignore the fact that many of Warren's supporters are already flocking to Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Pundits and reporters act as if horse not already out of barn (Sanders) in claiming Warren support would bring mass lefties to Biden.
— Greg Mitchell (@GregMitch) August 23, 2015
Further, Biden reportedly hired a new communications director, Kate Bedingfield, who formerly worked on John Edwards' 2008 campaign.
With 14 percent support among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters in July, Biden still trails Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton (47 percent) and her leading challenger, Sanders (29 percent). Though CNN notes, Biden's theoretical bid trumps former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
According to pollsters, a Biden run would most significantly threaten Clinton, by eating into her base of "white moderates" and "Democratic elites." Those at FiveThirtyEight argue that a Biden run, coupled with a crisis with the Clinton campaign, might be best chance Sanders has of getting the nomination.
