Former Vice President Joe Biden has apparently made the move that everyone has been expecting him to make. According to a House Democratic lawmaker, Joe Biden has decided that he will be joining the race for president in 2020.
According to The Hill, Biden was on a phone call with a House Democratic lawmaker when he said: “I’m giving it a shot.” The Hill said: “In the brief phone call, the former vice president asked if he could bounce some campaign strategy ideas off the lawmaker and invited the lawmaker to sit down with him in person in the near future. Biden also said he hoped to have the lawmaker’s support, something the lawmaker did not commit to.”
The 76-year-old former vice president didn’t make it clear whether or not he was planning on making a formal announcement about his intentions to run for president in 2020. It goes without saying that Biden definitely has the experience to work in the White House, but will he actually run?
When The Hill reached out to Bill Russo, Biden’s spokesman, he disputed whether or not the former vice president would be in the race by saying: “He has not made a final decision. No change.”
On Tuesday, Biden teased a bid for the 2020 election while he was speaking at the International Association of Fire Fighters conference. While he was on stage, cheers of “Run, Joe, run!” could be heard coming from the audience. “I appreciate the energy you all showed when I got up here,” he said. “Save it a little longer, I may need it in a few weeks. … Be careful what you wish for.”
The longtime friend of Biden’s, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. from Pennsylvania, explained to The Hill that the former vice president didn’t necessarily “declare” that he was running for president while they were on the phone last week, but he did state that it would be “very surprising” if Biden didn’t run in the 2020 presidential election.
According to the Real Clear Politics poll, with 29% support, Biden is in the lead among the other declared and possible Democratic contenders to be nominated by their party to run for president. He’s followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont who has 22% support, and Kamala Harris from California, who has 11% as well as Elizabeth Warren from California, who trails behind with 7% support.
However, according to a poll conducted by the Morning Consult, the race between Sanders and Biden is much closer with the support of 31% and 27%. Sanders, who held his first rally last week, seems to have the strongest following of all of the contenders.
According to a poll taken at Emerson College last month, before he even entered the race, Sanders was trailing behind Biden, who had a support rating of 27% at the time, with a rating of 17%.
It seems like Sanders is showing a post-announcement climb, which Biden should see as well once he enters the race. Biden will most certainly receive a more centrist following, as opposed to Sanders, who is a self-appointed democratic socialist.
