Former Vice President Joe Biden formally declared his candidacy for president Thursday, launching his third bid for the Democratic nomination.
Biden attempted a presidential run twice before. Vying to become the youngest president since John F. Kennedy, he ran for the Democratic nomination in 1988. Although a strong candidate, Biden dropped out of the race after instances of plagiarism and mistruths regarding his academic credentials came to light.
The Delaware politician also pursued a bid for the presidency in 2008, 20 years after his first attempt. Unlike his first go, Biden was overshadowed by his high-profile challengers such as former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He withdrew from the 2008 race after a poor performance at the Iowa caucuses, however, months later he confirmed he would be Obama’s running mate. After Obama won the presidency, Biden was sworn in as the 47th vice president to the United States.
Following Obama’s final term as president, Biden was eyeing another run at the presidency and was largely seen as a frontrunner in the 2016 Democratic playing field. He ultimately decided against running after the untimely death of his eldest son.
After leaving the office of the vice president, Biden refused to comment on whether he would be ruling out a run for the presidency in 2020, igniting further speculation of his presidential ambitions.
He referred to himself as the most “qualified person” to take on President Donald Trump during the next election in December 2018.
“I’ll be as straight with you as I can. I think I’m the most qualified person in the country to be president,” Biden said at the time. “The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse, that I’ve worked on my whole life.”
Biden currently leads the pack of prospective Democratic nominees in 2020, drawing 29 percent of party support in an Election Day Reuters/Ipsos poll. Biden was followed in popularity by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who drew 22 percent of Democratic support.
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