(Courtesy of Marc Nozell/Creative Commons)
Penn has yet another student group throwing its support behind a 2016 presidential candidate — one who isn’t even running.
Despite the fact that he has not announced he’s entering the presidential race, Vice President Joe Biden has managed to gain support both nationally — several polls show him polling around 20 percent — and on campus. Although the fledgling group has only three members, College sophomore and Penn for Biden co-chair Matthew Nielsen is optimistic about its potential for growth.
“We already have a listserv going — I don’t know the exact numbers, but we’ve had a good bit of interest about getting relevant articles about the vice president, or relevant messages from Draft Biden,” Nielsen said. Nielsen and his two co-chairs have been emailing with the super PAC’s national and Philadelphia chapters and hope to work on publicity initiatives such as cold calls and grassroots campaigning.
“I think [Biden] has the experience that we need in order to run the administration,” Nielsen said. “He’s worked with Obama, who’s been a very successful president. ...That, in conjunction with his years in the Senate and working concretely with other senators, would create a candidate for the presidency who could really get things done.”
Penn students may have an additional reason to pay attention to Biden: Biden’s late son Beau Biden and his daughter Ashley Biden are alumni of the school, having graduated from the College in 1991 and the School of Social Policy & Practice in 2010, respectively. Biden himself received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Penn in 2013, when he spoke at the University’s 257th commencement.
Despite having been in existence for barely a week, the Penn for Biden Facebook page has racked up 44 likes — a number dwarfed by the hundreds of likes on similar pages for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but edging out Penn for Kasich, which has 37. One surprising fan of Penn for Biden is College senior Varun Menon, who, despite leaning Republican, calls Biden his second choice after Kasich. Menon is one of the most visible supporters on the Penn for Biden Facebook page.
Like Nielsen, Menon said he is drawn to Biden’s long history as a public servant and also admires Biden’s bipartisanship and down-to-earth personality. “I’m not supporting him as of now, but there are reasons a Republican such as myself would consider voting for him in the general election,” he said.
Penn Democrats President and College senior Sean Foley said that while the group plans on officially endorsing a candidate during the primary process, the current consensus among members is split. “We’re kind of just watching the primary unfold right now,” Foley said.
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