Would Joe Biden have won the Democratic nomination if he ran?

[UWS]

Would Joe Biden have won the Democratic nomination if he ran?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

He could've, but nothing would be guaranteed.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

depends on who else was running, obviously

[Eraserhead]

Probably not. I think he'd have come in a distant third.

[Kleine Scheiße]

He definitely would've had a damn good shot, but I don't think he would have won outright.

[emailking]

I don't think so. He probably would have taken comparable amounts from both candidates and had a good showing, but I think Clinton would still come out on top. Sanders's idea for a contested convention might look a lot more plausible and so things might still be up in the air.

[Redban]

Opposing Hillary, Biden would have lost.

People forget that he ran and lost multiple campaigns for president in the past, and he has a history of making gaffes. Thus, the notion that he's a great candidate is inaccurate. His (speculative) 2016 run would have relied significantly on Obama's record, but Hillary, Obama's Secretary of State, shares that reliance with him, which makes Biden's argument ineffective.

A 2016 Biden campaign would have hurt Bernie the most, as the anti-Hillary vote that Bernie received this year would have gone to Biden instead.

[Sir Mohamed]

I’m unsure. He could have won with President Obama’s active support.

[Protect Trans Hoosiers]

Hillary had the 2016 nomination wrapped up the moment Obama established the Office of President-Elect.

[Hermit For Peace]

No. He's too much of a goofball. I'm surprised at how many people on this forum think Biden is actually a viable Presidential candidate.

[Kingpoleon]

I think a contested convention would be likely for the Democrats, and, the Republicans seeing this, Cruz and Kasich may have gotten more support from donors and such and been less likely to drop out.

[IceSpear]

Probably not. I think he'd have come in a distant third.

This. He probably would've dropped out once it became clear he was not going to supplant Hillary as the "establishment candidate", either after SC or Super Tuesday. He also probably would've thrown IA/NV to Sanders. However, if he stayed in long past his sell by date, he could've helped Sanders considerably, potentially causing a brokered convention. Not that it would matter considering how the superdelegates were nearly unanimously for Hillary and showed no signs of hungering for Biden.

I’m unsure. He could have won with President Obama’s active support.

Obama didn't support his SoS against a socialist who called for him to be primaried in 2012. There's no way in hell he would've chosen sides in Clinton vs. Biden, unless you believe the myth that they're still mortal enemies (which is exactly why he just had Comey indict her!)

[Mister Mets]

I don't think so. He doesn't have much of a niche in a race with Hillary and Sanders. He'd have Sanders' demographic problems, and Clinton's experience argument.