Al Gore May Be Dragged Into Presidential Race

Some insiders in the Democratic party are discussing having former Vice President Al Gore make another run for U.S. President, BuzzFeed reported on Thursday, adding that the man who won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election has not taken any steps toward entering the current race.

"They're figuring out if there's a path financially and politically," an unnamed Democrat told BuzzFeed about the insiders. "It feels more real than it has in the past months.”

Gore, 67, was the Democratic candidate in the 2000 election when the U.S. Supreme Court stopped a vote recount in Florida, which ultimately led to Republican George W. Bush becoming the country's 43rd President.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has dominated the small field of Democrats vying to be their party's candidate in the 2016 presidential election. When she ran in 2008, Gore, who served as vice president under her husband, former President Bill Clinton, declined to endorse her.

BuzzFeed reported that its sources "cautioned not to overstate Gore's interest." It said he has not made any formal or informal moves to join the race, has not met with political advisers about a potential run and did not comment to the media outlet about making a bid.

Still, the environmental activist, Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of Current TV enjoys some favor among voters. A recent Reuters poll shows 3.3 percent of Democrats would vote for Gore in the 2016 election, the same percentage as those who would elect actor George Clooney, but far less than the 18.8 percent who would vote for Gore's old boss, Bill Clinton, who is barred by law from running again.
Reuters