Politico: Draft Joe Biden Effort Underway for 2016, Despite VP's Silence
Thursday, July 2, 2015 10:55 PM
By: Todd Beamon
Vice President Joe Biden hasn't expressed any public interest in running for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, but that's not stopping supporters from trying to draft him into the race.
"That the VP was back in D.C. yesterday standing next to the president was a good sign for those of us that want him to do this," Dick Harpootlian, the former South Carolina Democratic chairman who is supporting a Biden run, told Politico.
Though Harpootlian has spoken with Biden recently, according to the report, others are betting that the vice president is leaning toward challenging frontrunner Hillary Clinton for the nomination.
"I haven’t spoken to anyone in Biden’s inner circle, but I have spoken to people who have spoken to those folks," said Jon Cooper, a former lawmaker in Suffolk County, N.Y.
A former top fundraiser for President Barack Obama, Cooper became the national finance chairman of the Draft Biden group on Thursday, according to Politico.
The day before, Cooper told The Washington Times that Biden would get into the race "next month."
"Last time I asked," Cooper told Politico, "they said it was at least an 80 percent chance."
Likewise, said Will Pierce, Draft Biden's founder. The Chicago-based group consists of former campaign aides.
"We haven’t been hearing complete silence, but we haven’t been hearing yes or no," he told Politico. "There’s no bat-signal from the VP’s office saying we’re not going to run.
"I don’t want to get into it yet, but doors have been open to us that wouldn’t have been open to us if the VP had decided not to run," Pierce added. "We wouldn’t be getting to the gatekeepers if the vice president wasn’t paying close attention."
Biden's eldest son, Beau, 46, died on May 30. He had been Delaware's attorney general. The loss might have altered the vice president's plans, Pierce and Harpootlian said.
"The guy’s just been through the toughest month any parent could ever have and no one’s going to blame him or criticize him if he does something other than run for president of the United States," Harpootlian told Politico.
"At this point, unlike other folks who are being touted as possible, his decision to run for president will have nothing to do with money, polling, or anything like that.
"Four weeks ago? Yes," he added. "But he’s lost his son since then. I do believe that we’ll hear something late this month, early next month."
Jennifer Rubin, the conservative Washington Post columnist, made her latest pitch for a Biden run on Wednesday, when she offered a list of 10 things he should say to win the nomination.
Biden's office did not return a request seeking comment, Politico reports.
http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/biden-democrat-draft-nomination/2015/07/02/id/653348/
