Phil Ammann
Now that Vice President Joe Biden has bowed out of the 2016 presidential race, Republicans are lamenting the loss of what could have been a stumbling block for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
In a prepared statement released Wednesday, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus said Biden’s decision not to enter the 2016 race is a “major blow for Democrats,” who will now almost certainly be “saddled with their unpopular and scandal-plagued” Clinton.
“Vice President Biden was the most formidable general election candidate the Democrat Party could have fielded, and his decision not to challenge Hillary Clinton greatly improves our chances of taking back the White House,” Priebus wrote. “With each revelation about her growing email scandal or conflicts of interest at her State Department, Hillary Clinton is getting more beatable by the day.”
Biden decided the timing was not right for his third shot at the presidency, even as polling showed he would be a formidable candidate in the race. With high favorability ratings, and a sense of frank openness, the vice president would’ve made an appealing candidate.
