Vice President Joe Biden is laying the groundwork for a 2016 presidential campaign, with confident supporters assuring the seasoned politician that he would defeat Hillary Clinton in a Democratic primary.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Biden's political allies already are making campaign plans and the vice president's official itinerary has him traveling to early primary states.
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"There's definitely a path forward for him" even if Clinton decides to run, said Larry Rasky, an aide on Biden's presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008.
The Biden camp is exploring the formation of a political action committee to allow him to lavish key Democratic candidates with donations in an effort to gain early support.
Biden also is planning to attend Democratic political events in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Despite the assurances of Biden's inner circle that he could clinch the nomination, polling in New Hampshire shows Clinton leading the pack with more than 50 percent support.
"He's the vice president of the United States of America. When you're the sitting vice president and you're running against anybody, you still have a chance," an unnamed source told the Journal.
In an
interview earlier this year with GQ magazine, Biden signaled that he is seriously considering another presidential run.
"I can die a happy man never having been president of the United States, but it doesn't mean I won't run," Biden said.
Officially, Biden's vice presidential aides are downplaying the election, and say he is focused on his current job.
"Any talk of other future plans is complete speculation," an aide said.
Biden turns 74 two months before Inauguration Day, and, if elected, would be the first president older than 70 to take office. He would be more than four years older than Ronald Reagan was when he took his first oath of office.
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