He plans to announce his decision sometime prior to the beginning of August.

Dick Harpootlian, former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, says Biden previously indicated to him he would likely make up his mind in July. The two last spoke 10 days before Beau Biden's death on May 30.

"I think he was seriously considering it, but he was seriously distracted by Beau being in Walter Reed," Harpootlian says, referring to the medical center outside Washington where Beau Biden had been hospitalized. "I haven't heard anything to convince me to say that it wasn't still something he was thinking about."

A separate source, who asked for anonymity, confirmed that the thinking and timeline remained consistent, even in the wake of the family tragedy.

The 72-year-old Biden on Tuesday made his first public appearance since burying his son, speaking at a clean energy summit in Washington. He made no mention of Beau Biden and even doled out a few jokes.

The vice president continues to field encouragement for a run from his band of loyalists around the country, including Harpootlian, who says he has sent every signal he can to prod Biden to join the race.

"I've not bothered him, but I've talked to several people close to the family," he says. "Based on the dynamic of the race right now, I would encourage him to get in."

While Hillary Clinton remains a sturdy Democratic front-runner, there are some signs of an opening against her. A Suffolk University poll of New Hampshire published Tuesday found Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had climbed within 10 points of Clinton. Biden registered just 7 percent.

Harpootlian, who has expressed concerns about Clinton's ability to win the general election, says "the day [Biden] announces, he would be within 10 points of Hillary Clinton in the early primary states."

That might be generous, though. In Iowa, the latest survey showed Clinton ahead of Biden 54 percent to 9 percent.

