• Politics

Joe Biden Backers Plan TV Ads Urging 2016 Bid

2 minute read

A group hoping to nudge Joe Biden into the 2016 race has cut a video hoping to build support for a possible campaign.

The Draft Biden group, which is not affiliated with the Vice President, released on Wednesday a dramatic clip of Biden’s emotional telling of the loss of a daughter and his first wife. The ad also features photographs of son Beau Biden, who died earlier this year. The video then urges voters to translate their own losses into action to change the world. The ad ends urging: “Joe, run.”

The ad is 90 seconds long—not the typical 30- or 60-second increment typically sold on traditional broadcast stations. For the moment, the ad is not running on televisions. The group, however, is using it to raise money and advisers say it will start running on CNN next week.

Biden is mulling a 2016 campaign but remains deeply pained over the loss earlier this year of his son, Beau. The former Delaware Attorney General urged the man he called “pop” to make a third run for President. The elder Biden has asked aides to consider what steps that would take.

Time, however, is running out for Biden. His would-be Democratic rivals are meeting for their first debate on Tuesday, and so far there’s no indication the Vice President will join them. Instead, there will be a handful of Draft Biden ads running during the debate’s lead-up to represent the Vice President.

Biden’s supporters, who are organizing under the banner of a super PAC, can accept unlimited donations but cannot coordinate with Biden himself. At the White House, aides say Biden is taking the time he needs to mull whether he has another campaign in him.

Read Next: How the Flooding in South Carolina Could Hurt Joe Biden

See the Life of Beau Biden

Biden And Family 1985
Joe Biden takes a mock oath of office from George H. W. Bush, accompanied by his family in Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 3, 1985. Lana Harris—AP
Joe Biden
Senator Joseph Biden, (D-Del.), center, waves to a crowd as his train leaves, after he announced his candidacy for President in Wilmington, Del., June 9, 1987. At right, Biden's son, Beau, carries Biden's daughter Ashley. Next to Biden is his wife, Jill, and son Hunter.George Widman—AP
Biden Pennsylvania
Vice President Joe Biden walks with his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, second left, and his son, Beau Biden, Delaware Attorney General, during a visit to Scranton, Pa., on July 3, 2012. Butch Comegys—AP
Barack Obama, Beau Biden, Jack Markell, Hallie Biden
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, left, next to Biden's wife, Hallie Biden, far left, and Delaware Governor Jack Markell as he arrives at New Castle Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Del., on July 17, 2014.Jacquelyn Martin—AP
Attorney General Beau and Vice Presidential candidate Senator Biden gesture on stage at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver
Beau Biden with then Vice Presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden on stage at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo. August 27, 2008. Chris Wattie—Reuters
Vice presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden embraces son Beau at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver
Then Senator Joe Biden embraces his son after his son introduced him at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, August 27, 2008. Larry Downing—Reuters
Beau Biden, Hunter Biden
In this Sept. 30, 2009 file photo, Capt. Beau Biden carries his son Hunter, 3, on his shoulders after an official welcome home ceremony for members of the Delaware Army National Guard 261st Signal Brigade in Dover, Del.Rob Carr—AP

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Philip Elliott at philip.elliott@time.com