At every step of President-elect Joe Biden's candidacy, his late son Beau Biden was on his mind. (Opens in new tab) Biden said that Bo chose vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris because he trusted her. On the eve of the inauguration, Biden gave a tearful and moving farewell speech in Delaware: "Ladies and gentlemen, my only regret is that he is not here. For we should be introducing him as our President."

Beau, who served as Delaware Attorney General and was predeceased by his wife Harry and children Natalie and Robert, passed away in 2015 from a brain tumor. He was 46 years old.

Joe and his family chose then-President Barack Obama to deliver the eulogy at Beau's funeral. In a moving speech, Obama said of Bo: "In 46 years, he accomplished what many of us could not do in 146 years. He left nothing behind. He was a man who lived a life where means and ends were equally important. The example he set would make you want to be a better father, a better son, a better brother or sister, a better job, a better soldier. He made you want to be a better person."

Joe and Bo were always close. As a young boy, Bo and his brother Hunter were hospitalized in a car accident that killed their mother, Joe's wife Neria, and Bo's one-year-old sister Naomi. His father held the senatorial swearing-in ceremony at Bo's hospital bedside and was known as "Amtrak Joe" (opens in new tab) during his tenure because of his devotion to his sons by taking the train home to them after work.

"By focusing on my sons, I found my redemption," Joe said in his 2015 Yale commencement speech (opens in new tab).

Beau agreed with his father that the accident strengthened the family bond: "One of my earliest memories is of being in that hospital, and my father was always there for us. We were his only concern, not the Senate," he said at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. (Open in new tab)

Beau and his brother Hunter (open in new tab) also had a strong bond. Together, the brothers attended Archmere Academy, the same Catholic high school their father attended. There, Bo was known as "Sheriff" among his friends. Hunter recalled in The New Yorker (open in new tab) his rule-following ways. "If I wanted to jump off a cliff into a body of water, I'd say, 'I'm ready, let's go.'

With the help of Hunter, who helped him distribute campaign flyers at school, he was elected student body president. My father knew Bo wanted it," Hunter told The New Yorker about Bo's early interest in politics.

After college, Beau entered military service and earned the Bronze Star. While serving as Delaware Attorney General, Baugh announced his intention to run for governor in 2016.

In 2010, Baugh suffered a small stroke and had a lesion removed from his brain in 2013 (opens in new tab). He underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation to treat the cancer (opens in new tab), but in 2015 his health deteriorated rapidly over the course of a few weeks. Beau died in May 2015 at the age of 46. It is with a broken heart that Harry, Hunter, Ashley, Jill, and I announce that Bo, our husband, brother, and son, fought his brain tumor with the integrity, courage, and strength he demonstrated every day. We know that Bo's spirit will live on in all of us. Especially through his brave wife, Harry, and two wonderful children, Natalie and Hunter.

Bo's death at a young age was a particularly public tragedy, as Joe was in his later years as vice president at the time. Rumors circulated that Beau had encouraged his father to run for president on his deathbed, but Joe brushed off the rumors in a 2015 interview with 60 Minutes. He said, "Beau always thought that if I ran, I could win. But it wasn't like a Hollywood movie where at the last minute Bo grabbed my hand and said, 'Dad, I'm going to win one for the Gipper. It wasn't like that."

Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe (opens in new tab) in January, the former vice president tearfully recalled his late son saying, "It was Bo who should run for president, not me. Every morning when Joe wakes up, I wonder, not jokingly, if he's proud of me."

In a 2019 New York Times article, Joe continued to actively connect with constituents over the issue. According to the article, "Some politicians have a sixth sense of vulnerability. Some can sense power. Joe Biden has a sixth sense for those who are suffering."

When Joe announced his candidacy on The View, he referred to the tragedies he has suffered, including Beau's death. He has also included Bo in his campaign speeches and at events in recent weeks. He said, "Beau cared very much about being here. You all know what it is like to lose a loved one. Somehow, the pain fades a little bit," he said at a recent rally. And in Houston, he honored the doctors who treated Bo: "You guys have been wonderful, wonderful people to my family," he said, according to NBC. (opens in new tab)

Biden has also made curing cancer one of his campaign promises (opens in new tab), which no doubt has to do with the loss of his beloved son.

Beau was a huge support during his father's run for vice president; in his 2017 memoir, Promise Me, father Joe writes about his son's calm demeanor and how it helped him before key events in the campaign.

"Bo had a way of giving me courage and calming me down," he wrote. Just before going on stage, Beau would always grab my arm and pull me toward him until I looked him in the eye." Dad. Look at me. Dad, look at me. Remember, Dad. Home base, Dad. Home base.

Joe also took Bo into account in his decision to choose California Senator Kamala Harris, who is close to his son, as his running mate. In an email to supporters (opens in new tab), he explained He had tremendous respect for her and her work. I thought about that a lot in making this decision. I am proud that Kamala stood with me in this campaign"

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According to the Washington Post (open in new tab), Harris and Bo were so close that his closest staffers had a list of about 60 people who should be the first to know of his death, and she was on that list.

The incoming vice president still honors him today. On the fourth anniversary of his death, she tweeted (opens in new tab), "Today I am thinking of @JoeBiden (opens in new tab), @DrBiden (opens in new tab), and the Biden family. Beau Biden was my friend. We served as Attorney General together, and no one cares more deeply for his family, the country he served, and the State of Delaware. Four years after his passing, I still miss him."