Pro-Biden political committee launches new ad urging vice president to run just hours before first Democratic debate
- Draft Biden PAC buys $250,000 worth of air time on national cable TV
- Vice president is not expected to attend Tuesday night's inaugural Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas
- Biden still has not declared candidacy and had long planned to skip first debate
- Read the latest news and updates on the Democratic presidential debate
Draft Biden, the political action committee publicly urging Vice President Joe Biden to run for president, has released a new, would-be campaign ad just hours before the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas Tuesday night.
The ad came with a $250,000 buy of air time on national cable TV, presumably since Tuesday's debate is being aired on and hosted by Cable News Network.
Biden, who is said to be still considering a third presidential run, is not expected to attend the debate.
Seventy-two-year-old Joe Biden has been publicly and privately wrestling with a decision on whether to run for president in 2016 ever since the May 30 death of his son Beau to brain cancer
A sixth podium for Biden is said to be available and standing by during Tuesday night's debate - just in case
CNN had rewritten its debate rules to allow last-minute candidates to participate, and even plans to have a spare podium for him onstage should he change his mind and appear.
But Biden has given no public sign of interest. Close advisors say the debate - one of six for the Democratic candidates - is not as important.
The next Democratic debate is on Nov. 14 in Des Moines, Iowa.
The new ad, entitled 'Never Quit,' uses audio from a Biden speech in which he addresses the resilience of his family and the United States, using a story from his childhood in which his father had to briefly leave the family to seek employment elsewhere.
'It's about being able to look your child in the eye and say, "Honey, it's going to be ok," and mean it and know it’s true,' Biden says in the ad.
'You never quit on America, and you deserve a president who will never quit on you,' the vice president continues, before the ad ends with the words, 'Joe, Run.'
Draft Biden's new ad urging the vice president to run for the White House features campaign footage of him with his wife, Jill
A spare CNN podium for Biden - should he choose to accept it
Biden had originally expected to decide on a presidential campaign by the end of the summer, but that informal deadline passed. A second informal deadline of early October also appears likely to come and go with no decision from the vice president
The 'Never Quit' ad replaces a more emotional commercial that told the story of the death of Biden's first wife, Neilia, and one-year-old daughter, Naomi, in a car accident in 1972.
Aides to Biden had reportedly asked on his behalf that particular ad not be aired.
As it stands now, an empty podium will be onstage Tuesday night beside front-runner Hillary Clinton and rivals Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former senators Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee.
Advisors close to Biden say a decision later in October is more likely than the first half of the month.
Of greater concern is an upcoming series of deadlines to get on primary ballots in some states. Those dates start popping up in November.
However, Biden has also expressed in national interviews his contentment with the possibility that he may not make up his mind in time for the various deadlines.
RCP had Clinton at 42 percent as of late last week, compared to 25.4 percent for Sanders and 18.6 percent for Biden.
Those are national poll numbers, however -- when the focus is narrowed to Iowa, Clinton's lead over Sanders is only 6.3 percent. And in New Hampshire, the senator from neighboring Vermont is actually leading Clinton by 9.2 percent.
Biden is in third place in both states, according to RCP.
Tuesday's debate is scheduled to air at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.
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