Biden reportedly considering 2016 run

Vice President Joe Biden is reportedly taking a fresh look at challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president.

The New York Times reported Saturday that Biden’s advisers have been in contact with Democratic leaders and donors, feeling out the level of concern over Clinton’s campaign and the appetite for Biden to enter the race.

{mosads}Much of the communication was restarted following the death of Biden’s son, Beau, in May, as supporters offered condolences and urged a closer look at a presidential run.

Lingering concerns over Clinton’s use of private email during her time as secretary of State, her coming testimony over her role in the Benghazi attacks, as well as the large crowds pulled in by Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) populist message, have led some Biden backers to wonder whether there is an opening for the vice president.

The Times reported that quiet meetings have been frequently helmed by Steve Ricchetti, Biden’s chief of staff. The Times said Biden is still undecided on the matter, but will likely make a decision known by the end of summer or early September.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd said in a Saturday column that Biden had been reconsidering a presidential run, driven in large part by the explicit urging of his son before his death.

She wrote that as Beau was dying of brain cancer, he tried to make Biden promise to run for president and challenge Clinton.

Biden has twice before run for president. He dropped out of the race in 1988 following reports of plagiarism and an inflated academic record, and pulled little support in 2008 in Iowa before dropping out.