Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)? Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)? Representative John Delaney (D-Md.)? Mark Zuckerberg?
The list of possible Democratic contenders to take on President Donald Trump in 2020 is growing.
Now another name is being floated.
You’ll recognize it. You heard it a lot the past eight years.
Joe Biden.
There was great speculation at the beginning of the last presidential election cycle over whether or not the then-vice president would challenge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.
Ultimately, he decided not to run.
However, in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily, when asked if her father would challenge Trump, Biden’s daughter Ashley stated:
“I hope so. He’s busier truly than ever. Right now his focus is on the [Biden] Foundation and Cancer Moonshot, as well as getting other Democrats elected. He’s not there. He’s taking it day by day after the loss of my dear beloved brother [Beau who died in 2015]…He’ll make a decision when that time comes. It’s a little ways away. A lot can happen in four years and we know this as a family. If he is in good health, knock on wood, and seeing what the landscape is at the time, yeah, I think he is considering it.”
Back in April, Politico kicked off an article titled “Biden keeps 2020 options open” with:
“Joe Biden has been saying yes to nearly all the political invitations coming his way, with new ones arriving almost daily. Privately, the former vice president and his staff have started talking about how to begin planning a strategy with a roughly 18-month timeline so that if he decides on another presidential run, he’ll be best positioned to get it off the ground...Biden 2020 just might happen.“
Some see Biden as closest to being the “perfect candidate” for Democrats because of his breadth of experience, popularity, blue collar and middle-class sensibilities that propelled Trump to victory, and his association with former president Barack Obama, who would no doubt re-enter the spotlight to support his former VP.
However, some argue his age is a hindrance. By the time of the next Iowa caucuses, he will be 77, a fact Republicans will likely use to try and discredit him, as they would Sen. Sanders should he decide to run.
Another concern is his middle-of-the-road Democratic positions at a time when we are experiencing a major surge in progressive stances. This week, in fact, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced his long-anticipated Medicare-for-all bill that is sure to become one of the Democrats’ most prominent issues come 2019 and 2020.
At a time when most regard Trump as feckless and corrupt, this could be the opportunity for Democrats to rally behind the progressive platform Bernie Sanders popularized during his run for the White House. If Biden runs, he will have to keep pace.
But as Jason Easley from Politicususa wrote:
“If Joe Biden runs, he will have a built in level of support from Democratic primary voters that few other candidates will be able to match…Joe Biden could cause a world of headaches for Donald Trump.”
Image credit: metamorphosis.democraticunderground.com
