Most recent vice presidents have run for president. Will Joe Biden be the exception?
Since 1960, only three individuals who served as vice president did not eventually seek the presidency.
Former Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned while in office. Former President Ford’s vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, was replaced on the 1976 ticket by Bob Dole and did not seek the highest office. And more recently, Dick Cheney did not run for the White House after serving two terms for former President George W. Bush.
Biden is reportedly taking a new look at running for the Democratic nomination in 2016.
A New York Times report earlier this month said that his advisers are speaking with party leaders to gauge interest in a bid. And Times columnist Maureen Dowd said Biden’s son Beau urged his father to run shortly before passing away in May.
But the former Delaware senator would face an uphill climb if he were to enter the race, with Hillary Clinton the clear Democratic front-runner.
Clinton has locked up many top donors and has already built a formidable campaign machine. In addition, a Gallup poll on Aug. 11 showed Democrats split over a Biden bid, with 45 percent wanting him to run and 47 percent not in favor.
And history might not be on Biden’s side. While it’s common for vice presidents to run for president, only one sitting VP in recent decades has won: George H.W. Bush over Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in 1988.