Biden events fuel speculation on run

Vice President Biden made an unannounced appearance at a gathering of hundreds of Iowans in Washington, D.C., on Thursday in a move certain to fuel speculation the vice president is readying a presidential run.

{mosads}Biden dropped by a party hosted by the Greater Des Moines Partnership at the W Hotel Rooftop and Terrace, according to the Des Moines Register. Attendees included nearly 200 Iowans who flew to Washington as part of a three-day lobbying visit to the nation’s capital.

The vice president quipped that he made the appearance “because Tom Harkin told me to,” referring to the state’s Democratic senator. Last fall, Biden traveled to the Hawkeye State to speak at a steak fry hosted by the lawmaker.

The visit with politically active Iowans won’t be Biden’s only bid this week to curry favor with the politically influential in early voting states. On Friday, Biden will headline a fundraiser for the South Carolina Democratic Party.

The fundraising lunch comes ahead of a speech at the commencement ceremony at the University of South Carolina.

The vice president has repeatedly said he is weighing a 2016 presidential bid.

During an interview with CNN earlier this year, Biden said he could not think of a good reason not to run for president, and said he would decide in the summer of 2015.

“I can’t,” Biden said “There may be reasons I don’t run. But there is no obvious reason, for me, why I think I should not run.”