Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s eight years as wingman for President Obama won him plenty of good will among Democrats, but that won’t give him a leg up as the party picks its White House nominee for 2020.
Mr. Biden will be 77 years old before the first votes are counted in the Democratic primaries and if he does decide to run, he will face a crowded field of rising stars that weren’t out of grade school when he won his first Senate race.
“Everyone loves Joe Biden, but he won’t automatically get the support of Obama voters, any more than Hillary Clinton did,” said Christy Setzer, a Democratic strategist who has worked for Mr. Biden. “It’s shaping up to be a crowded Democratic primary field with an equally large number of theories on who’s best candidate to go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump.”
Mr. Biden marched back into Washington this week, where he was greeted with chants of “Run Joe Run!” on Capitol Hill.
He delivered a stinging rebuke against President Trump, joining the rest of the 2020 field in competing to deliver the most biting attacks on the man they want to succeed.
“Look, to put it in the simplest, starkest terms, the president is looking out for himself only and the Republican Party seems only to be looking out for the president,” Mr. Biden said before the House Democratic Caucus. “So it is our job to remind the American people that we are looking out for them.”
Mr. Biden also vowed to play as big as role as people want him to play in the midterm elections and reminded voters that he has been on the ground campaigning with candidates across the country — including during Sen. Doug Jones’ stunning upset in Alabama and Ralph Northam’s victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race.
On Friday, he is scheduled to headline a campaign event for Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, one of the more vulnerable Democrats in the 2018 election.
Mr. Biden passed on a run for president in 2016, citing the recent death of his son as a defining part of his decision.
Should he run this time, he faces a number of headwinds.
He’s not the only member of Mr. Obama’s inner circle considering a bid. Former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said this week he’ll make a decision by the end of this year on running.
And some Democratic politicos are calling for a new era of leadership.
For instance, Jim Demers, who cochaired Mr. Obama’s New Hampshire operation in 2008 and 2012, said he remains a big fan of Mr. Biden, but that at this moment Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey would be his top pick.
There also are wildcards such as Oprah Winfrey, who has downplayed the presidential talk, but has nonetheless left the political world starry-eyed over the prospect of her running.
Brad Anderson, who directed Mr. Obama’s 2012 campaign in Iowa, took to Twitter last month when speculation swirled around whether Ms. Winfrey would win the White House.
“Yes she can!” Mr. Anderson said on Twitter. “Call me @oprah. I’ve got some Iowa county chairs who would love to hear from you.”
Mr. Anderson, though, told The Washington Times on Wednesday that Mr. Biden would start from a strong position if he runs, and would likely be able to win back many of the folks who backed Mr. Obama.
“I can really only speak for myself at this point and I can say personally that I love Joe Biden and if he were want to run would certainly be happy to talk to him about that,” Mr. Anderson said. “That is not to say I would be supporting him right out of the gate, but I think he would be a really strong candidate and at this point there are few better messengers for the party than Joe Biden.”
Ms. Setzer said Democratic primary voters will have a number of calculations to make in deciding who to put up against the president.
“Is it a woman who can capitalize on the #MeToo movement, anti-Trump anger and mobilization? Or someone like Biden, who can best compete for the white working-class male vote? Do we want someone younger?” she said. “There are just too many good, and varied, choices to assume anyone will run away with the nomination.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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