A group of nearly 50 top Democratic Party fundraisers and activists are circulating a letter urging Vice President Joe Biden to jump into the Democratic White House race, saying he is sure to win if he does.
“The Obama-Biden administration has been a spectacular success. But much work remains to be done,” the letter said. “To finish the job, America needs a leader who is respected both home and abroad, and who understands the real challenges facing American families.”
Signatories to the letter, first reported by Reuters, include former South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian, and John Maa, who serves on the party’s national finance committee as well as retired basketball legend and coach Elgin Baylor.
“In our opinion, the next president must be Joe Biden. If he announces he’s running, we’re all in. It’s a campaign we know he will win,” the letter went on.
“Joe Biden is an authentic leader who has always lived by the values he learned from his family — values he expresses eloquently every day. He has known profound suffering and unimaginable loss, yet he has been a paragon of perseverance in the face of adversity. “
Biden has said that he is considering a presidential run against Democrats like front-runner Hillary Clinton and surging Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but is weighing whether he and his family have the emotional endurance as they grieve for his son Beau, who died from brain cancer in May.
An outside group of supporters of the vice president called Draft Biden 2016 has been preparing the groundwork for a potential Biden run, including setting up infrastructure in key states.
One of the big impediments to a late run by the vice president would be whether he could swiftly raise sufficient campaign funds to be competitive in early state nominating races which start in February — a factor the donor letter, signed by 48 potential donors and supporters, appears intended to address.