U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appears to be seriously weighing another run for the Democratic presidential nomination, calling potential campaign donors and supporters in recent days and meeting with a key lawmaker as he explores his prospects.
Biden interrupted a visit to his home state of Delaware Saturday for a private luncheon at his official residence in Washington with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a favorite among progressive Democrats who earlier this year declined overtures to enter the race herself.
Warren, a fiery voice against the influence of large financial institutions in the U.S., has not endorsed any Democratic contender, including the current frontrunner, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Biden's consideration of joining the race comes as political surveys show support slipping for Clinton, in the midst of questions about her use of a private email server during her four-year stint as the country's top diplomat during President Barack Obama's first White House term. Obama is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
Previous bids
The 72-year-old Biden, while serving as a U.S. senator, previously lost bids to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008. He has served as Obama's vice president for the last 6½ years.
Voters will start casting ballots in both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating contests in February, with the parties selecting their nominees months later ahead of the November 2016 national election.
U.S. voters appear restive, often challenging presidential candidates in face-to-face confrontations about their views as they campaign for support.
Republican contenders uniformly have called for tougher immigration reforms, to curb the flow of illegal immigrants across the southern U.S. border from Mexico.
The current leading Republican presidential candidate, real estate mogul Donald Trump, said he wanted to force the country's 11 million illegal immigrants out of the country and build an impenetrable wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.
But not everyone agrees with their anti-immigration stance. When New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spoke Saturday at the state fair in the rural central state of Iowa, pro-immigrant supporters chanted in favor of U.S. citizenship.
Some information for this report came from AP.
