Al Gore’s supporters have started chatting with the former vice president about a potential 2016 presidential bid, BuzzFeed News reported Thursday, citing an unnamed senior Democrat.
“They’re figuring out if there’s a path financially and politically,” the Democrat told BuzzFeed, which noted Gore hasn’t made any moves toward running. “It feels more real than it has in the past months.”
ABC’s Rick Klein tweeted that a former Gore adviser confirmed a “circle of his former aides are talking about” a potential 2016 bid, though they are still in the very early part of the discussion.
Gore starting trending nationally on Twitter shortly after the reports emerged Thursday.
The former vice president to Bill Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee and won the popular vote during the 2000 election to George W. Bush, though he lost the election.
Gore, 67, has since focused mostly on environmental activism, with little to no signs he is interested in another White House bid.
But speculation has mounted in recent weeks that another prominent Democratic figure — namely Vice President Biden — might join the 2016 fray to challenge Hillary Clinton, the longtime front-runner.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Clinton’s current primary rival, surged ahead of her in a New Hampshire poll released this week, and some Democrats are worried that Clinton’s email issues may intensify.
A request for comment from Gore’s office by The Hill was not immediately returned.