Report: Biden Is In As Dem Lawmaker Confirms Former VP Is Ready to Run

Vice President Joe Biden talks to people as he checks out the stage at Wells Fargo Arena before the start of the second day session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

The long-awaited moment for Democrats may soon be upon them as one Democratic lawmaker has confirmed that Barack Obama’s former VP is going to throw his hat into the ring.

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According to The Hill, an unnamed senior Democrat had a phone call with Joe Biden who said matter of factly “I’m giving it a shot” when asked about his 2020 Presidential intentions.

The anonymous lawmaker noted that Biden is still ironing out the details of his run with his wife, and hasn’t yet determined a time when he would announce according to The Hill:

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.

Biden responded that there was no harm if they keep talking, according to the lawmaker who spoke to The Hill on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the phone conversation.

Biden did not share any details about when or where he planned to make his formal presidential announcement, the lawmaker said. Biden and his wife Jill just returned from vacation in St. Croix in the Caribbean, where they reportedly discussed potential pitfalls and began finalizing their plans, the Associated Press reported.

While the lawmaker is telling one story, Biden spokesperson Bill Russo is saying that Biden has made no decision yet.

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“He has not made a final decision. No change,” Russo told The Hill.

However, as The Hill points out, Biden has been hinting he’s running before, including at an International Association of Fire Fighters’ annual conference in D.C.

“I appreciate the energy you all showed when I got up here,” Biden said. “Save it a little longer, I may need it in a few weeks. Be careful what you wish for.”

Reports also say that privately, Biden has been telling friends that he’s going to run as early as 2017 with the stipulation that he’d do it only if the Democrats could not find a clear leader. As the Democrats are clearly leaderless, Biden has the opportunity to casually stroll into the role.

What helps is that polls continuously show that Democrats would prefer Biden as their 2020 nominee, as he consistently places first above the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Robert “Beto” O’Rourke (D-Not Texas).

Biden does face problems, however. Many in the Democratic party believe he’s past his time in politics and should fade into the background. Furthermore, the radicals taking over the Democratic party believe Biden doesn’t fit the role optically, being white and male. This after the Democratic party had elected a black man and then attempted to elect a human-like robot.

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Despite the trip-ups within his own party, many Democrats are conceding that once he announces, he’s pretty much the nominee according to The Hill.

“If he gets in, he’s the frontrunner,” conceded a second House Democratic lawmaker, who has already endorsed another candidate for president. “He’s the standard that others will have to measure up to in terms of policy knowledge, in terms of his ability to run a presidential campaign, and folks who are close to him in the polls will have to compare themselves to Biden’s strengths.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a former Biden staffer during the 1980s, hasn’t spoken to Biden recently but said there is nothing stopping his former boss from running again.

“At this stage in life, he doesn’t have a lot to lose and has a lot to gain. And he has a lot to offer the county,” Connolly told The Hill outside of the Capitol. “He offers the prospect of some desperately needed healing in this country after this scourge.”

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