Will Vice President Joe Biden run for president? Who knows. Biden reportedly might announce his decision as early as this weekend. While we wait, let’s look back at Biden’s two previous runs for president:
1988
Biden launched his campaign in June 1987. His poll numbers never rose very high, averaging about 2 percent in the first half of 1987. It didn’t help that only about one in five Americans knew who the Delaware senator was, as estimated by Nate Silver. Even after early front-runner Gary Hart dropped out due to revelations of an affair, Biden’s poll numbers stayed low.
At the time, Biden was relatively young: 44 years old. His 15-year career in the Senate had already led him to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee. During the campaign, Biden was praised by Democrats for leading the Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination process, which ended in embarrassment for President Reagan when the Senate rejected his nomination. Biden campaigned on education reform, raising wages and limiting the threat of nuclear war.
Three months after launching his campaign, Biden was accused of plagiarizing a speech from then-British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.
Biden later admitted to exaggerating stories about his family’s humble background so that it would more closely match what Kinnock said. It was later discovered that he had also plagiarized Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in his campaign speeches.
Plagued by scandals, Biden dropped out of the race in September 1987, five months before the Iowa Caucuses.
2008
Two decades later, Biden jumped back into presidential politics. He launched his second presidential campaign in January 2007.
This time around, Biden polled slightly higher. In national Democratic primary polls conducted before he launched his campaign, Biden usually earned 5 to 7 percent. It helped that roughly half of Americans knew who he was. As time went on, however, Biden’s numbers fell, to an average of 2 percent in the first half of 2007. He reached 5 percent support in only one poll in the second half of the year.
Biden’s foreign policy experience was seen as one of his best qualities, having served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Much of his campaign focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with Biden largely critical of the Bush administration’s policies.
Biden was also known for his gaffes and one-liners, and the primary debates featured several noteworthy moments.
Biden polled at roughly 5 percent in Iowa during the month prior to the caucuses. In spite of that, he came in fifth place, with only 1 percent of the vote in Iowa. Biden dropped out the night of the Iowa Caucuses, having said months earlier that he would quit unless he finished in Iowa’s top three.
That night, Biden said he would not attempt another White House run.
Eight months later, then-Democratic nominee Barack Obama chose Biden as his running mate, and the rest is history.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
