Up Close: Joe Biden and the race for president

Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he will not run for president in 2016.

Bill Ritter spoke with to Jeanne Zaino, of Iona College, and political consultant Hank Sheinkopf about the choice not to run and the current candidates.

Biden had spent the past several months engaged in discussions with his family and political advisers about entering the primary. Yet as the deliberations dragged on, Democrats began publicly questioning whether it was too late for him to run.

In the end, Biden decided it was too late. He also was still grieving his son, former Delaware Attorney Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in May.

Both Hillary Clinton and Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders have been in the race since April.

At the White House, aides and longtime Biden loyalists had prepared for his potential bid, putting together a campaign-in-waiting ready to move fast should he decide to jump into the race.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.