Vice President says son doesn't want to run for Senate

Jan 24, 2010 — Washington Post

Chris Cillizza

Vice President Joe Biden told a Delaware columnist that his son, state Attorney General Beau Biden, doesn't want to run for the Senate, a startling admission and one, if correct, that could hand his former seat to Republicans in the fall.

"If you run into Beau, talk him into running; he respects you," Biden told Wilmington News Journal columnist Harry Themal at the end of a recent interview. Themal responded that he didn't think Beau Biden wanted to run to which Joe Biden responded: "I don't think he does either. I know he doesn't want to."

Biden's office provided the Fix with a transcription of the relevant part of the interview in which, they insist, it's clear that Joe Biden is talking not about his son but about interim Sen. Ted Kaufman, a longtime ally of the vice president.

"Talk Ted into running, if Beau doesn't," Biden is reportedly to have said. "Talk him into running -- he respects you."

Even in Biden's version of events, however, it's clear the Vice president is seeking a "plan b" in the event his son decides against the race.

For months, Beau Biden has been cast as a certain candidate by Senate Democratic strategists but, in recent weeks, Biden's hesitation to formally announce his candidacy has stoked speculation that he is reconsidering the race.

Those close to Beau Biden had acknowledged that his timeline for deciding on a bid against Rep. Mike Castle (R) has been delayed due to an ongoing blockbuster case regarding an alleged pedophile pediatrician that is being handled out of the AG's office.

But, Joe Biden's comments seem to suggest that his son isn't simply a victim of circumstances but genuinely does not want to seek the office. Castle, who has served as the state's governor and at-large Congressman, is widely seen as the strongest candidate Republicans could possibly field.

With Castle's electoral strength, behind-the-scene suggestions that the septuagenarian Castle only wants to serve until 2014 and a national political environment that appears to have tilted badly against Democrats, Biden's reconsideration of the race is not terribly surprising.