# Joe Biden's presidential campaigns

* This article is part of a series aboutJoe Biden
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vte :
Joe Biden, former president of the United States (2021–2025), former vice president (2009–2017), and former U.S. senator from Delaware (1973–2009), has sought the presidency four times. In his first two campaigns (1988 and 2008) he withdrew before or during the primaries. In his third, (2020) he was elected president defeating incumbent Donald Trump. In his fourth, (2024) he won the Democratic primary but withdrew before the election.
In 2015, during the final year of his Vice Presidency there was media speculation that he would seek the presidency in the 2016 United States presidential election. He denied the rumors and stated that his "window for a successful campaign has closed".
At the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Keron Kerr, an uncommitted delegate from Maine voted for Biden.

## 1988 presidential campaign

In June 1988, Biden, then in his third term as a Senator from Delaware, declared his intentions to run for president. Originally, Biden was regarded as potentially one of the strongest candidates in the field. However following reports that he had plagiarized a speech by Neil Kinnock the leader of the British Labour Party, he withdrew before the Democratic Party presidential primaries.
The primary was won by Michael Dukakis who lost the general election to Republican George H. W. Bush.

## 2008 presidential campaign

On January 31, 2007, Biden announced his candidacy. After finishing in fifth place in the Iowa caucus on January 3, 2008, garnering only one percent of the total vote, Biden ended his presidential bid. On August 23, 2008, Barack Obama selected Biden as his running mate.
The pair won the election, defeating John McCain and Sarah Palin, and Biden was elected the 47th Vice President of the United States.

## 2020 presidential campaign

On April 25, 2019, Biden released a video announcing his candidacy. He was initially considered to be among the strongest candidates, though his chances diminished after poor performances in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary. However, he was again considered the frontrunner after his wins in the South Carolina primary and on Super Tuesday. Following Senator Bernie Sanders' decision to suspend his campaign, Biden became the became the presumptive presidential nominee.
After winning the nomination, Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential candidate. Harris was the third woman and the first person of color to be a major party vice presidential. In the presidential election, Biden successfully defeated incumbent President Donald Trump; he broke the record set by Obama for most votes cast for a presidential candidate. He was the first Democrat to win the states of Arizona and Georgia since the 1990s.

## 2024 presidential campaign

In 2024, Biden intended to run for reelection to a second term. Following a poor performance in the first 2024 presidential debate, several Democrats (including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi) called for Biden to exit the race. On July 21, 2024, Biden withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Vice President Harris. Her campaign was ultimately unsuccessful and she lost the election to Trump.