The latest sign that Joe Biden is seriously considering throwing his hat into the presidential ring: A person close to the Vice President’s camp told TheWrap Monday that Biden has invited several major Democratic fundraisers to meet with him the week after Labor Day at his official residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
The insider declined to offer specifics about meeting or the number of people who would meet with Biden.
There has been an increased sense of urgency about a potential Biden candidacy since the poll numbers for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton have slipped in recent weeks as questions have mounted about her use of a private email server during her years as Secretary of State.
Other individuals close to the Biden camp have seen an uptick in interest “I’ve spoken to a lot of people who said to me, ‘Listen, I’ve already given money to Secretary Clinton but I’m not thrilled with her campaign and her lack of trustworthiness. If the Vice President jumps in, I’m there,’” Howie Mandel, a prominent Biden fundraiser in L.A. not related to the comedian of the same name, told TheWrap last week.
On Saturday, Biden met privately with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. The meeting has been widely viewed as a serious indication that the vice president is leaning toward entering the race and seeking out the progressive wing of the party represented by Warren.
The effort to get Biden to enter the 2016 race has picked up steam since his son Beau, the former attorney general of Delaware, died of brain cancer in May at age 46.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd reported this month that Beau tried to make his father promise to run in 2016 in an effort to stop the presidency from going back to the Clintons.