Just a day before Election Day, Vice President Biden told CNN he “doesn’t agree with the oddsmakers” who are betting that a Republican wave will flip control of the Senate.
{mosads}“I predict … we’re gonna keep the Senate,” he said in a CNN interview broadcast Monday. “I’ve been in 67 races all told, and I don’t get the feeling that the oddsmakers are getting.”
Despite Biden’s optimism, most of the smart money is on the GOP. The party needs to win six seats to wrest control of the Senate back from Democrats, and at least 10 seats are in play. And while a Republican Senate and Democratic White House would surely clash on a slew of issues, Biden is hopeful that the parties could find common ground during Obama’s last two years in office.
“The Republicans have to make a decision whether they’re in control or not in control,” he said. “Are they gonna begin to allow things to happen? Or are they gonna continue to be obstructionists? And I think they’re gonna choose to get things done.”
Biden’s been one of the highest-profile Democrats on the trail for embattled candidates this election season, as many Democratic candidates have shied away from appearing with Obama, lest they be tied to the increasingly unpopular president. But Biden’s tour through swing states reflects another reality: a potential bid for president in 2016.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the overwhelming Democratic favorite, but Biden hasn’t been shy in suggesting he’s weighing another run. He told CNN that he wouldn’t base his decision on Clinton’s.
“That’s not the reason not to run or to run,” he told Gloria Borger. “The question is … am I convinced I am best positioned of anyone else to lead the country the next four years?”