Vice President Joe Biden: 'There Is a Chance I Will Run for President' in 2016

Jan 21, 2015 04:24 PM EST

As the 2016 presidential election season draws near, Vice President Joe Biden has hinted that he may challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic party's nomination.

On Wednesday, ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Mr. Biden if there is a chance he will run for the nation's top position in next year's election.

"Yes," the VP replied, "There's a chance, but I haven't made my mind up about that, we've got a lot of work to do between now and then. There's plenty of time."

Biden added that Clinton, who currently leads early polls of Democrats, is "really competent capable person and a friend."

"I think this is wide open on both sides," he told Stephanopoulos. "Right now my focus is getting implemented what the president talked about last night: to nail down this recovery and get the middle class back in the game.

During an appearance on NBC's "Today Show," Biden boasted that he had worked effectively on both sides of the aisle as a seven-time-elected senator from Delaware.

"Being president and being a leader in the Senate are two different things," he said. "But when I was in the Senate, I had the great honor of being able to work the room."

When asked by host Matt Lauer if he'd run for president, Biden responded,  "I think I could do a job. But that's not my focus right now."

"My focus now is keeping this (economic) recovery moving," Biden continued. "I have plenty of time to make that decision (to run for president) between now and the summer and I will make that decision in that time frame."

The 2016 presidential election campaign officially started last month, when former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush announced he is "seriously considering" running for office. Other hopefuls, however, including Clinton, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio have not yet officially announced whether or not they will make a bid for office.

According to a recent CNN poll, 20 percent of Republican voters say Romney would be their first choice for the nominee, with retired neurosurgeon and conservative activist Ben Carson coming in second with 10 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Clinton received an overwhelming majority of support, with 65 percent of left-leaning Americans saying she would be their choice for the 2016 nomination. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Biden, fell far behind to take second and third place -- with 9 percent and 10 percent, respectively.