Biden travels to Florida amid 2016 speculation

by Jordan Fabian - 09/02/15 10:33 AM ET

Vice President Biden is kicking off a two-day trip to Florida on Wednesday amid growing speculation over whether he will run for president in 2016.

Biden will speak about the Obama administration’s efforts to expand access to community college at Miami Dade College before headlining a fundraiser for Senate Democrats.

{mosads}The jaunt offers Biden the chance to test the waters in a major battleground state as he considers whether to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Biden is expected to make a decision this month. Some Democrats have clamored for the vice president to run as Clinton has struggled to handle controversy surrounding her use of a private email server as secretary of State.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll showed 53 percent of Americans view her unfavorably, underscoring concerns about how the email issue has hurt her campaign.

But the same survey indicated Biden could face a difficult path to the nomination; his overall favorability rating is knotted at 46 percent, and Democrats view Clinton more favorably than they do Biden.

It remains unclear whether Biden will launch a campaign while he mourns the death of his oldest son, Beau.

Beau Biden, the former Delaware attorney general, reportedly urged his father to enter the race before he passed away in May. But Biden said last week he is still figuring out whether he has the “emotional fuel” to run while he is still grieving.

“If I were to announce to run I have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul and right now, both are pretty well banged up,” Biden told Democratic National Committee members on a conference call last Wednesday.

Biden’s Florida trip gives him the chance to speak in front of donors and political supporters he might need if he decides to enter the race.

On Thursday, Biden will meet with Jewish community leaders to discuss the Iran nuclear deal at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center outside of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the Democratic National Committee chairwoman, asked Biden to attend the event, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Biden’s trip also puts him in the home state of one of his most vocal boosters, veteran Democratic strategist Steve Schale, who is advising the Draft Biden super-PAC. There are no meetings with Schale on Biden’s public schedule.

The vice president will continue his travels on Thursday, when he will deliver remarks at the Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Atlanta.

Biden plans to march in a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh on Monday, giving him the chance to show his appeal to working-class white voters if he decides to run.

Tags Hillary Clinton Joe Biden