Top GOP dirt diggers turn focus from Clinton to Biden

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

With Hillary Clinton in free fall, the primary Republican opposition research organization is setting its sights on Vice President Joe Biden.

 

America Rising quietly expanded in August, assembling a team of researchers and other political operatives in preparation for a Biden 2016 candidacy. The super PAC continues to oversee a staff of 100 dedicated to undermining Clinton, the one-time presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. But with the former secretary of state mired in an email scandal and Biden eying a run, America Rising felt it was only prudent to get ready for shakeup in the Democratic race.

 

"Six months ago, Joe Biden emerging as a serious challenger to Hillary Clinton was unthinkable," Joe Pounder, president of America Rising LLC, told the Washington Examiner. "But given the never-ending questions about Clinton's emails and her complete inability to connect with voters, a Joe Biden candidacy appears increasingly likely. That's why America Rising built out a Biden team to hold the vice president accountable, just as we have Clinton."

 

Clinton leads the RealClearPolitics.com average of national Democratic polls with 40.5 percent, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at 25.8 percent and Biden at 20.8 percent. But Clinton's leads nationally and in Iowa are down substantially from their apex, and she trails Sanders in New Hampshire. Clinton's candidacy has taken a hit from an ongoing scandal over her use of a private email server during her tenure at the State Department.