Vice-President Joe Biden’s associates have resumed discussions about a possible 2016 presidential run after largely putting aside such deliberations during his son’s illness and following his death earlier this year. But Mr. Biden has yet to tell his staff whether he will run or personally ask them to do any planning for a potential campaign, according to several people close to Mr. Biden.
Recent conversations between Mr. Biden’s associates and Democratic donors and operatives have led to speculation that Mr. Biden will challenge front-runner >Hillary Rodham Clinton for the party’s nomination, and individuals close to Mr. Biden have started looking into what options might be available to him if he were to run, such as potential staff in the early-voting state of Iowa.
Mr. Biden is expected to make a final decision as soon as early September, according to those familiar with his plans.
The people close to Mr. Biden spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deliberations.
The renewed focus on Mr. Biden comes amid some signs of weakness for >Ms. Clinton , including declines in her favourability among voters in recent polling. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is challenging Ms. Clinton for the Democratic nomination, has been attracting large crowds with a liberal economic message, evidence of a hunger within the party for an alternative to >Ms. Clinton’s candidacy .
Mr. Biden’s entry could fundamentally reshape the dynamics of the Democratic primary elections. Yet Ms. Clinton remains enormously popular among Democrats. She has raised nearly $50 million for her campaign.
There are few signs, meanwhile, that Mr. Biden is taking solid steps toward launching a campaign. He has had little interaction with a “draft Biden” group pushing him to run, and has yet to look for office space in early voting states or raise money for a potential bid.
Kendra Barkoff, the vice president’s press secretary, said Mr. Biden was spending his time working on President Barack Obama’s agenda, not on planning his own potential presidential campaign.
“As the Biden family continues to go through this difficult time, the vice president is focused on his family and immersed in his work,” Barkoff said.
Mr. Biden’s son, Beau, died of brain cancer in May. The younger Biden’s death prompted an outpouring of support for the vice president, who also lost a daughter and his first wife in a car accident in 1972.
Since Beau Biden’s death, his father has surrounded himself with longtime confidants and former aides who can provide comfort and emotional support but also have intimate ties to Biden’s two previous presidential campaigns.
In recent weeks, several long-time donors, supporters and former staffers have reached out to the vice president and his staff to offer their condolences, as well as to say they’d be on board if he chooses to run.
The speculation around a potential Biden run grew even louder this past week when Fox News reported that Biden chief of staff Steve Ricchetti had met for breakfast with Louis Susman, a prominent Democratic donor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. But individuals familiar with the meeting said Susman and Ricchetti are longtime friends and that Susman initiated the meeting.
Mr. Biden would bring to the race 36 years of experience in the Senate, as well as a breadth of foreign and domestic policy experience from his years as vice president. He’s been a key negotiator for Mr. Obama during fiscal fights on Capitol Hill and also the point person for administration policy in Ukraine and Iraq.
