Biden expected to announce presidential campaign this week
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to join the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field this week.
The decision answers one of the most significant outstanding questions of the early presidential primary season, which has already seen announcements from 18 other Democrats.
Biden, 76, would be the most experienced politician in the race, and the second oldest, after 77-year-old Bernie Sanders.
His plans were confirmed by three people with knowledge of them. The announcement is expected as early as Wednesday and would cap months of deliberation over his political future.
Already, donors have begun trying to raise money on his behalf.
“A number of us in San Francisco have begun organizing for Vice President Joe Biden and his nascent organization as he prepares to make his announcement later this month,” wrote California-based attorney Thomas McInerney in an email.
He continued: “If you are interested and able to get in on the ground floor of his presidential campaign and help the Vice President make a splash when he announces, please consider sending a check now made out to ‘Biden for President.’ ”
The specific launch date and location is unclear.
Biden served for two terms as Barack Obama’s vice president after nearly four decades as a senator from Delaware. His highprofile, working-class background and connection to the Obama years would help him enter the race as a front-runner, though he faces questions about his age and whether his more moderate record fits with a party that has become more liberal.
With a record in elected office that stretches a half-century, Biden faces multiple challenges.
Last month he struggled to respond to a complaint from Lucy Flores, a 2014 lieutenant governor nominee in Nevada, that he made her uncomfortable by touching her shoulders and kissing the back of her head before a campaign event. A few other women have made similar claims, though none has alleged sexual misconduct.
And in recent weeks, Biden was repeatedly forced to explain his 1991 decision, as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, to allow Anita Hill to face questions about her allegations of sexual harassment against Clarence Thomas, then a nominee for the Supreme Court.
Biden has since apologized for his role in the hearing.