Democrats split on Biden presidential candidacy

As U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is reportedly considering a presidency run seriously, a new Gallup poll finds that while the majority of Democrats view him favorably, they split evenly over whether he should enter the race.

According to the poll released earlier this week, 45 percent of Democrats, including independents who lean Democratic, say they want him to run for U.S. president in 2016, while 47 percent do not.

Meanwhile, the Gallup poll found there is neither a large groundswell of support nor wide opposition to a Biden candidacy within the Democratic Party. The poll, conducted between Aug. 5 and Aug. 9, found that 19 percent of Democrats say they would definitely support Biden if he runs for the 2016 Democratic nomination against the currently undisputable Democratic front- runner Hillary Clinton.

Another 61 percent say they might consider supporting Biden, and 19 percent say they definitely would not support Biden. In all, eight in 10 Democrats say they are at least open to backing Biden.

Whether or not they would vote for Biden, the majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners, 74 percent, have a favorable view of him, up from 65 percent a year ago, said the poll.

Similarly, Biden's image among all Americans has also improved, with nearly half of Americans now holding a favorable impression of him, up from 38 percent and 39 percent within the past year. His current 47 percent to 40 percent favorable/unfavorable ratio is the most positive Gallup has recorded since immediately after the 2012 election.