Vice President Joe Biden has hired a new communications director who happens to have presidential campaign experience, a move that will likely fuel more speculation that Biden is about to jump into the 2016 race for the White House.
Kate Bedingfield was selected by Biden and will begin work on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
She comes from the Motion Picture Association of America, where she became chief spokeswoman and vice president of corporate communications in May 2013. Bedingfield also worked on John Edwards’s 2008 presidential campaign and Jeanne Shaheen’s 2008 Senate campaign.
Biden’s former communications director, Shailagh Murray, left his office in March to work for President Obama and the position has been vacant since.
“She will be a key adviser to me, a terrific asset to our office, and an important member of the entire White House organization,” Biden said in a statement about Bedingfield.
The pick comes at an important time, as Biden is reported to be seriously considering running for the Democratic presidential ticket. On Saturday, Biden met with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Warren’s endorsement is a highly coveted one in the Democratic Party, as she was urged by so many in the party to launch a 2016 bid.
On late Sunday, the Wall Street Journal also reported Biden is “increasingly leaning toward” entering the fray for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
“The vice president has not made a decision about his political future,” Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said in a statement. “Anyone speculating that he has made a decision is wrong.”
Biden would have a long way to go should he decide to run. According to a RealClearPolitics average of polls he garners 12 percent of support. Hillary Clinton leads with 49.3, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders at 25 percent.
