Pro-Biden PAC launches new ad urging presidential run

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Draft Biden, the political action committee created to urge Joe Biden to jump into the 2016 presidential race, released on Tuesday a new ad portraying the vice president as an advocate for the dignity of work as he weighs a bid for the White House. The ad comes after the group pulled a previous ad, which focused on the deaths of Biden's first wife and daughter as a turning point in his life, after Biden reportedly objected. The group, which is not coordinating its efforts with the vide president, will spend $250,000 airing the new ad on Tuesday ahead of the first Democratic debate and on Wednesday. "Joe Biden knows that Americans never quit on their country and they always deserve a president who doesn't quit on them," said Brad Bauman, an adviser to Draft Biden, in a statement. Biden has been considering whether to run for his party's nomination to the November 2016 contest. Hillary Clinton, once considered a near shoo-in for the nomination, has seen her lead in the polls eroded as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has challenged her from her left, potentially leaving an opening for the vice president. Clinton and Sanders, as well as Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb, are all expected at the Tuesday debate in Las Vegas. However, Biden is not expected to appear on the stage, even as speculation swirls that he could announce a run soon. (Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Christian Plumb)