With Hillary Clinton in free fall, the primary Republican opposition research organization is setting its sights on Vice President Joe Biden.
America Rising quietly expanded in August, assembling a team of researchers and other political operatives in preparation for a Biden 2016 candidacy. The super PAC continues to oversee a staff of 100 dedicated to undermining Clinton, the one-time presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. But with the former secretary of state mired in an email scandal and Biden eying a run, America Rising felt it was only prudent to get ready for shakeup in the Democratic race.
“Six months ago, Joe Biden emerging as a serious challenger to Hillary Clinton was unthinkable,” Joe Pounder, president of America Rising LLC, told the Washington Examiner. “But given the never-ending questions about Clinton’s emails and her complete inability to connect with voters, a Joe Biden candidacy appears increasingly likely. That’s why America Rising built out a Biden team to hold the vice president accountable, just as we have Clinton.”
Clinton leads the RealClearPolitics.com average of national Democratic polls with 40.5 percent, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at 25.8 percent and Biden at 20.8 percent. But Clinton’s leads nationally and in Iowa are down substantially from their apex, and she trails Sanders in New Hampshire. Clinton’s candidacy has taken a hit from an ongoing scandal over her use of a private email server during her tenure at the State Department.
Federal authorities are investigating and say Clinton has failed to satisfy concerned Democrats, leading some to look to Biden.
America Rising is a limited liability corporation with a tethered super PAC that can raise unlimited contributions. Earlier this year, the group said it expected to spend around $15 million on opposition research and other activities targeting Clinton, a former New York senator and first lady. Now, this strategy includes focus on Biden, 72, who spent 36 years as a senator from Delaware before being elected vice president in 2008.
The group emphasized that it was not diverting resources from Clinton, but rather had expanded to prepare for Biden, who has recently taken steps to explore a White House bid. As with Clinton, Biden has a decades-long record to mine for damaging opposition research. But unlike President Obama’s first secretary of state, America Rising believes the information it discovers could pack more punch given the vice president has never faced Clinton-level scrutiny.
“You’re pointing to definite vulnerabilities,” conceded a Democratic operative, who requested anonymity in order to speak candidly. “But should he run, his organizational and financial gauntlets are likely to be even more daunting.”
Biden has run for president twice previously. In 1988, he was pushed out of the Democratic primary by a plagiarism scandal; in 2008 he dropped his bid after failing to register much support. Meanwhile, America Rising is “actively tracking” Sanders just in case he scores an upset victory and becomes the Democratic nominee.
America Rising is one of many political groups and super PACs aiming to help Republicans win the White House in 2016. But it’s the only one devoted to opposition research. Investigating politicians’ backgrounds is intricate, painstaking work that relies not on tips or inside information but on public records and government information available only through public records requests and other research.
In April, the group revealed to the Examiner the extent of its Clinton project.
On payroll are 20 full-time and more than 50 part-time trackers, operating mostly in early primary states and fundraising hubs like Boston, New York and San Francisco, to document her every move. At its Arlington, Va., headquarters, more than 20 researchers are combing through the paper trail Clinton has left during more than two decades in public. A dedicated war room synthesizes the information and directs the attacks.
Officials with the group declined to detail aspects of their newer Biden project, but suggested it would function similarly. There does seems to be sensitivity about the personal tragedy Biden suffered with the recent death of his son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, to brain cancer. This appears to be among the reasons the group plans not to level any attacks unless the vice president jumps into the race and becomes an actual candidate.
Should Biden make it official, however, the gloves come off.
“Maybe we’ll even collaborate with American Bridge, Media Matters and all the other Democratic groups that prematurely endorsed Clinton and now face the unhappy prospect of having to tear down the sitting Democratic vice president,” Pounder said.
