'We're ready to go': Joe Biden has a secret campaign that is ready to launch as soon as he gives the order

  • Former Vice President has been widely tipped to enter the presidential race 
  • His advisers have a campaign ready to go and have been interviewing aides to fill positions within it, sources close to the planning said
  • But Biden worries whether it is worth dragging his family through the campaign
  • Strategists say he is worried he will struggle amid an already crowded field

Joe Biden has a presidential campaign ready to roll but is questioning whether he is the right man for the moment, sources close to him say.

Biden, 77, has voiced concerns himself about dragging his family through the primary process if he doesn't have a decent chance of winning.

Nevertheless, the former Vice President's longtime advisers Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon have been interviewing Obama-era aides to flesh his the campaign team should he make the announcement, The Hill reports.

Joe Biden's close advisers have been interviewing Obama-era aides to fill out his campaign if he decides to run, sources close to the planning have said

Joe Biden's close advisers have been interviewing Obama-era aides to fill out his campaign if he decides to run, sources close to the planning have said

But Biden has questioned whether he wants to drag his family through the process against a competitive field (pictured with wife Jill and grandaughters Finnegan, left, and Naomi, right)

But Biden has questioned whether he wants to drag his family through the process against a competitive field (pictured with wife Jill and grandaughters Finnegan, left, and Naomi, right)

Greg Schultz, who served as his political director in the White House, is expected to be campaign manager.

Donilon will take up post as chief strategist while Ricchetti, Biden's chief of staff in the White House, will take an overseeing role.

Kate Bedingfield is expected to reprise her White House role as his communications director while Tony Blinken, Biden's longtime foreign policy adviser, will also take on a senior position.

But questions remain among strategists over whether Biden is the right man to take on Trump in the presidential race. 

The clamor for Biden to join the pack has quieted as the Democratic field has grown more crowded and diverse, according to interviews with more than two dozen strategists, activists, party organizers and voters.

Opinion polls show Biden, a former U.S. senator from Delaware who served two terms as former President Barack Obama's vice president, remains popular. But the Democratic Party may no longer need him in order to be competitive against Trump.

'I love Joe Biden. He's a great guy and a great politician,' said Jerry Shriner, a Democratic National Committee member from Idaho. 'I wish he were the president right now. But I'm not sure I wish he is president in 2021.'

Democrats are in the early stages of an internal debate about how best to challenge Trump in next year's presidential election, weighing factors like electability, ideology and identity.

The strength of the field - expected to include at least six sitting U.S. senators, plus several current or former governors, U.S. House of Representatives members and a former Cabinet secretary - is a factor in Biden's calculations, those close to him say.

He will be more likely to remain on the sidelines if he feels a strong candidate capable of beating Trump is emerging.

 Bernie Sanders has emerged as an early heavyweight in the fight to take the Democrat nomination after his unexpectedly successful campaign in 2016

 Bernie Sanders has emerged as an early heavyweight in the fight to take the Democrat nomination after his unexpectedly successful campaign in 2016

Kamala Harris, who drew national attention during her questioning of Brett Kavanaugh, and Elizabeth Warren, who has campaign against income inequality, both announced early

But a source close to Biden said: 'If I had to guess, he's probably going to do it.'

Biden associates have held discussions with potential staffers and supporters who could serve political strategy, grassroots organizing and digital campaign roles, according to two sources. One source said those conversations were necessary to quickly ramp up a formal campaign operation should Biden decide to run.

Some party activists say, however, that Biden has not reached out to broad donor networks to gauge the level of monetary support he could expect.

Biden, who mounted failed presidential campaigns in 1998 and 2008, said at an event in Delaware on Tuesday that he did not want a third bid to be 'a fool's errand.'

'What I don't want to do is take people's time, effort and commitment without there being a clear shot I could be the nominee,' he said. 'I think I can.'

Biden chose not to run in 2016 when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was widely considered the heavy favorite for the Democratic nomination. Some political analysts have since speculated he could have won industrial battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that proved crucial to Trump's surprise victory.

Biden's high name recognition among Democratic voters means he likely can afford to wait longer than lesser-known candidates to enter the 2020 race. But even that comes with a risk.

'The longer he waits, the more people are going to start to want to follow some of the new and younger voices they're hearing,' said Bret Niles, the Democratic Party chairman in Linn County, Iowa.

Biden's age, ideology and record already are drawing scrutiny. If elected, he would be 78 when he was sworn in.

'Joe Biden is too old,' said Mary Donough, 60, a Democrat from Des Moines, Iowa, who plans to participate in her state's crucial nominating caucus next year and wants a younger candidate to challenge Trump.

Corey Booker has also thrown his hat into the ring, campaigning on criminal justice reform and calls to unite a divided country

Corey Booker has also thrown his hat into the ring, campaigning on criminal justice reform and calls to unite a divided country

'There is just more energy there,' she said.

Biden's backers will argue his age represents experience, said a former aide who asked to speak on background in order to explain internal talking points.

'Voters look at Donald Trump and they look at what we're missing, which is someone who understands the institution, someone who is an adult, someone who is seasoned, someone who respects the institutions,' the former aide said.

If Biden does run, the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, said on Thursday that Trump and the Republican Party would attack his work as vice president under Obama.

'Go ahead and run,' McDaniel told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland. 'Run on your record of stagnant wages, of jobs leaving this country, of manufacturing jobs fleeing United States of America, of bad trade deals, of bad foreign policy.

The Democratic Party undoubtedly has moved left since the last time Biden appeared alone on a ballot in 2008, when he was re-elected to the Senate by Delaware voters for his seventh term.

'Times have changed,' said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. 'Does he meet the moment?'

Green, whose group supports the candidacy of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, lumps Biden in with white, male, moderate Democrats who have faltered in recent elections, like Phil Bredesen, who lost his U.S. Senate race in Tennessee last year.

Biden also will have to answer for his record.

He chaired the 1991 confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and was criticized for not doing enough to protect Anita Hill, who accused Thomas of sexual harassment. Biden has since apologized and said he should have done more to shield Hill from attacks by Republicans.

Unions remain unhappy about the free-trade deals advocated by the Obama administration, and liberal progressive groups point to the bailout of Wall Street banks during the financial crisis that provided no help to distressed homeowners.

Sharon Holle, who has been working to organize for Biden in Iowa ahead of his decision, argued his experience would appeal to Democrats nervous about the country's direction under Trump.

'People are scared,' Holle said. 'We're in a crisis right now. We need somebody we can trust.'