Former US VP Biden announces 2020 run for White House

Former US Vice President Joe Biden announced on Thursday he was entering the 2020 White House race, joining an already crowded list of candidates running on the Democratic Party platform.

“The core values of this nation... our standing in the world... our very democracy... everything that has made America -- America -- is at stake. That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States,” he said on Twitter.

Biden, whose working-class appeal remains intact despite nearly half a century in Washington politics, is seen as a comforting, known quantity for American voters who will be vetting some 20 Democrats now officially in the presidential field.

But recent controversy over his tactile style, particularly with women, could dampen a rollout that he envisioned as the final main entry to the Democratic primary battle.

Even before his official announcement, Biden, who served eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president, led most surveys of Democratic voters.

The RealClearPolitics poll aggregate puts him as favorite with 29.3 percent support, followed by independent Senator Bernie Sanders at 23 percent.