At a glance:
- Born in 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania – a key election battleground
- Served as Vice President between January 2009-2017
- This is his third time running for president
- If elected, he will become the oldest US President in history, aged 77
Who is Joe Biden?
Joe Biden in 1972 as a newly-elected Democratic senator from Delaware. Source: AP
That’s important because Pennsylvania is a crucial state at this year’s election given US President Donald Trump won it off the Democrats in 2016.
It’s no coincidence then, that Mr Biden has based his presidential campaign in his home state.
Mr Biden was elected to the US Senate for Delaware in 1972.
Both Delaware and Pennsylvania are key to his presidential election campaign story.
"Biden is best seen as someone who is proud of where he comes from," says Associate Professor in American Politics Brendon O'Connor, from the United States Studies Centre.
His campaign is keen to stress his working-class connections – especially his love for Amtrak trains and the fact Mr Biden took the train to work as a senator so he could spend time with his family in Delaware every night.
Working Class ties
Those connections with blue-collar voters are exactly why the Democratic Party chose him, says Professor O'Connor.
“Biden has been chosen because there is a sense that he appeals to working class white voters across those three states (Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin),” he told SBS News.
“There was a strong turnout amongst working class white voters for Trump that was probably pivotal at the last election.
“Biden, due to his background, his ability to talk fairly effectively to working class Americans - that’s the big hope and that’s why he’s the candidate and not Bernie Sanders, or Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris.”
Long career
Joe Biden in 2008 Source: AP
While he would be the oldest US president in history if he wins in November, he was also one of the youngest elected to the US Senate in 1972 for Delaware, aged 29.
But aspects of his past voting record are proving uncomfortable in some ways in a new era.
Mr Biden has made eliminating racism a part of his platform. But many – including his running mate and vice-presidential pick Kamala Harris, have previously pointed out his legacy in siding with segregationists opposed to a court-mandated rule to integrate white and African American children riding school buses in the 1970s.
He also voted for a 1994 law cracking down on crime that many activists blamed for mass incarceration in the 1990s, which affected the African American community especially.
He’s also faced ridicule and accusations of unwanted physical contact with women.
And then there was the time he dropped out of the race for the White House in 1987 over accusations he plagiarised parts of a speech made by the British Labour leader earlier that year. Further claims of plagiarism also later emerged from his college years in that failed campaign.
Tragedy
Joe Biden watches an honor guard carry a casket containing the remains of his son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. Source: AP
His son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 aged just 46, after a two year battle.
“Joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair, which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents,” former first lady Michelle Obama said of her husband’s former vice president at the Democratic convention in August.
At a time when tens of thousands of Americans are reeling from the death of their loved ones due to COVID-19, he is able to empathise with grieving families.
“At this point in time 175,000 Americans died of COVID-19. That death toll and the amount of people who are grieving and mourning because of that is crucial,” Mr O’Connor said.
“The fact that Biden can present himself as being caring and empathetic is crucial when you haven’t had that strong sense from Trump mourning deaths,” he added.
The Obama Factor
Barack Obama hugs then-Vice President Joe Biden during funeral services for Biden's son in 2015. Source: AFP
Mr Biden will rely on that comradery with Mr Obama to gain the votes of many African Americans and Democrats with a sense of nostalgia for the Obama era presidency.
“This is one of his great strong suits – it really was something that helped him in the primaries,” Mr O’Connor said of Mr Biden’s friendship with the former president.
“Incredible support from African American voters, from people who saw Obama’s presidency really favourably. A lot of that rubbed off on the Biden campaign.”
Will he win?
Joe Biden meets with supporters before speaking at the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding at the Surf Ballroom in 2019. Source: AP
Mr O’Connor said in a "normal" election where Mr Trump wasn’t the incumbent, Mr Biden wouldn’t even be in the picture and probably defeated in the primaries.
But today, Mr Biden looks good.
"He holds everyone together," Mr O'Connor said.
"He’s a party elder, he’s a moderate in many regards. He can be someone all sorts of elements the party can say they connect to.
“He ran in 1988 and 2008 and both times he was not an impressive candidate. He got beaten thoroughly in both occasions.
“But for a range of reasons to do with Trump and the coronavirus, he becomes the unity candidate.”
