Former vice president Joe Biden’s team discussed the possibility of him running on a 2020 presidential ticket with Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke as his vice presidential candidate, according to an Associated Press report Friday.
Biden advisors are reportedly considering whether the rising Democratic star could be the answer to fears that the 76-year-old former vice president is too old to appeal to voters.
Biden has hinted at taking on President Trump next election, this month calling himself “the most qualified person in the country to be president.” He has said he will only run if he feels it is right for his family after the 2015 death of his son.
O’Rourke, 46, came surprisingly close to beating incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz in conservative Texas this election cycle and has captured the imagination of his party as he considers a presidential run.
Democratic leadership has become increasingly geriatric lately, causing some newer members of Congress to call for younger blood in those roles. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, 78, faced opposition to her bid to be speaker of the House again before cutting a deal with rebels in her party that she will step down by 2022. At 79, House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer, the House’s longest-serving Democrat, has also encountered criticism that he is too old.
Some wonder if Biden’s brand of moderate Democrat is becoming a relic as the party moves leftward. O’Rourke has not embraced the most radical elements of his party either, responding “I don’t know” on Friday when asked whether he considers himself a progressive Democrat.
The outgoing El Paso congressman said at an event in his district Friday that he has set “no hard date” on when to decide whether he will run for president.
Some of the younger Democratic candidates in the running are Senators Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
However, democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, who gave Hillary Clinton a run for her money in the Democratic primaries in 2016, galvanized a large base of young millennial voters despite being 74.