Joe Biden
Joe BidenReuters

Former Vice President Joe Biden will run for the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential election, The Atlantic reported Friday, and will make a formal announcement launching his campaign sometime next week.

The report, citing “people familiar with the discussions” on Biden’s presidential run, says top aides to the former VP and seven-term senator confirmed the 76-year-old will make a third run for the Democratic nomination for next year’s election.

The Delaware Democrat will reportedly focus on his long experience in politics, arguing that his roughly five-decades in politics make him the most-electable candidate in a race against Donald Trump, who entered the White House two years ago with no prior political experience.

If elected, Biden will become the oldest president in US history at 78 years old on his inauguration day. Trump, currently the oldest person to be elected president, was 70 on inauguration day 2017.

Despite his age, however, Biden is currently the front-runner in polling for the Democratic primaries. Nation-wide, Biden currently leads the pack with an average of 30%, according to the RealClearPolitics rolling average of polls.

His closest competitor, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is trailing by 7.5 points at 22.5%. Sanders, a year older than Biden, would be 79 on his inauguration day if elected.

In a general election, Biden also leads other potential Democratic contenders, besting Donald Trump in recent nation-wide polls, as well as in a number of key battleground states including Michigan, Iowa, and Pennsylvania.

Biden ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008, but dropped out early in both campaigns.