Will Joe Biden Make A Presidential Run? Letter Circulated By Confidant Hints Vice President Nears A Decision

One of the biggest questions yet to be answered during the 2016 U.S. presidential-election process centers on whether Vice President Joe Biden will make a bid for the country’s highest office. Biden hasn’t made an official decision about a White House run, but a letter circulated by one of his advisers and close friends indicated he may getting close to making it, the Associated Press reported Friday.

“If he decides to run, we will need each and every one of you -- yesterday,” former U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman of Delaware wrote in a letter to some of Biden’s former staffers.

“What kind of campaign? An optimistic campaign. A campaign from the heart. A campaign consistent with his values, our values, and the values of the American people. And I think it’s fair to say, knowing him as we all do, that it won’t be a scripted affair -- after all, it’s Joe,” ABC News quoted Kaufman as saying in the letter.

The letter apparently has been circulated with Biden’s blessing, AP reported after interviewing people who were familiar with the letter but not authorized to comment officially on it. Those close to Biden interviewed by AP also said he and his family were considering whether to take on the pressures of a political campaign while still dealing with the emotional toll associated with the death of the vice president’s son, Beau Biden, in May.

If Biden were to announce a bid for the White House, he would enter the race already far behind the Democratic Party’s top two presidential hopefuls, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Both Clinton and Sanders have been busy raising funds to build their campaign teams while traveling the country. The Clinton and Sanders campaigns each raised about $30 million in the last quarter, while Biden had not raised any money during the same period, according to NBC News.

Biden also didn’t participate in the first Democratic presidential-election debate, giving other candidates more exposure to a national audience. In addition, time is running for him to get his name on state ballots for the primaries, which require various fees and statements.