The super PAC working to draft Joe Biden into the 2016 presidential race has gone radio silent ahead of a potentially imminent decision from the vice president, MSNBC has learned.
Senior officials with the Draft Biden super PAC agreed on a conference call Monday afternoon to “go dark,” according to a source familiar with the call, to give the vice president room to speak for himself and avoid further stoking media speculation about a possible announcement.
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The move comes as various news outlets, including NBC News, report Biden is days or even hours away from making a decision. The pro-Biden super PAC, which is independent of Biden’s formal deliberations, has been the main outside vehicle organizing support and laying the ground for a 2016 bid, but would cede the field for an official Biden campaign if he got in.
Draft Biden gained credibility when a longtime aide to the vice president’s late son, Beau, joined in August. The group also brought on a number of respected former a Obama campaign aides, and has previously been vocal in the media about why Biden should run. They have released two pro-Biden ads. The first was pulled before it was widely distributed because many critics (and the vice president himself) considered its references to tragedies in his personal life to be in poor taste. The second ad, entitled “Never Quit”, featured a speech from the vice president about the value of work.
Biden allies have worried that media speculation about the veteran Democrat’s timing and his repeatedly missed could hurt the vice president. Focus groups and some snap on-air polls conducted by msnbc have suggested muted enthusiasm for a Biden candidacy.
Alex Seitz-Wald