DOVER, Del. — Vice President Joe Biden’s eldest son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, dealt another body blow to the flailing Democratic Party on Monday, announcing he will not run for the Senate seat long held by his father.
The younger Biden said he needs to remain focused as attorney general on a high-profile case involving a pediatrician accused of sexually assaulting several patients. Prosecutors believe Dr. Earl Bradley, arrested in December, may have molested more than 100 children over the past decade.
“The reality is it became increasingly clear over the last several weeks that it was impossible to mount a Senate campaign in the face of dealing with both the prosecution in Lewes as well as the things I need to do, our office needs to do, for victims,” Biden said.
Some political observers believe there was more to Biden’s decision than staying true to a 2006 campaign promise to crack down on child predators.
“This is going to be a very tough year for Democrats, and that would have included even Beau Biden in Delaware,” said University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato.
Biden’s decision was a surprise, given that his father’s longtime confidant and former Senate chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, was appointed to the seat essentially to keep it warm for the son until this year’s election.
But longtime GOP Rep. Mike Castle, a two-term governor and one of the most successful politicians in Delaware history, entered the Senate race in October, dramatically increasing the likelihood of a fierce contest.
“The decision to run for the United States Senate is not only a political one but also a very personal one,” Castle, 70, said in a statement Monday. “I respect Beau Biden’s decision to remain focused on his significant responsibilities as Delaware’s attorney general.”
Biden’s decision leaves the seat his father held for 36 years vulnerable even as Democrats lick their wounds following Republican Scott Brown’s victory last week for the Senate seat long held by the late Democrat Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. Brown’s upset ended the Democrats’ filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
