Joe Biden

=== 1972 U.S. Senate campaign in Delaware ===
{{Main|1972 United States Senate election in Delaware}}
Biden defeated Republican incumbent [[J. Caleb Boggs]] to become the junior U.S. senator from Delaware in 1972. He was the only Democrat willing to challenge Boggs and, with minimal campaign funds, he was thought to have no chance of winning.<ref name="cby-43" /><ref name="nyt-father" /> Family members managed and staffed the campaign, which relied on meeting voters face-to-face and hand-distributing position papers,<ref name="npr-72">{{Cite news |last=Naylor |first=Brian |date=October 8, 2007 |title=Biden's Road to Senate Took Tragic Turn |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14999603 |access-date=September 12, 2008 |archive-date=September 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911183158/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14999603 |url-status=live }}</ref> an approach made feasible by Delaware's small size.<ref name="watn020109" /> He received help from the [[AFL–CIO]] and Democratic pollster [[Patrick Caddell]].<ref name="cby-43" /> His platform focused on the environment, withdrawal from Vietnam, civil rights, mass transit, equitable taxation, health care and public dissatisfaction with "politics as usual".<ref name="cby-43" /><ref name="npr-72" /> A few months before the election, Biden trailed Boggs by almost thirty percentage points,<ref name="cby-43" /> but his energy, attractive young family, and ability to connect with voters' emotions worked to his advantage,<ref name="aap08-bio" /> and he won with 50.5% of the vote.<ref name="npr-72" />