In weeks, perhaps days, reports the Hill, Joe Biden will finally make good on years of insinuation and announce he is running for president. Biden’s will-he-or-won’t-he saga has been deeply affected by the tragic death of his son Beau in 2015, and more recently, a family drama surrounding his other son, Hunter Biden. But personal affairs have done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the former V.P.’s supporters, who believe he has the best shot at taking down Donald Trump in 2020. Biden, too, is apparently coming around. As one source with direct knowledge of the matter told the Hill, he’s “95 percent there.”

Biden, the heavy favorite among Democratic-power elite, is the rare candidate who can afford to play coy with his ambitions; he’s reportedly told associates that he doesn’t feel the need to get out ahead of the pack, thanks to his nationwide popularity and familiar brand. His assumption is backed by the polls, with the latest Morning Consult offer placing his name recognition at 99 percent, with 78 percent of respondents having a favorable opinion of him. (The only other politician who comes close is Bernie Sanders, at 72 percent favorability. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Cory Booker trail them both by double digits.) Even better, the battle-tested politician has broad appeal to centrists who haven’t quite warmed up to the progressive movement—voters who G.O.P. operatives believe might feel alienated by someone like Sanders or Warren. “He wreaks calmness and normalcy, which I feel like people crave over the chaos of the Trump administration,” an operative based in the Southwest told my colleague David Drucker.

Despite the slow roll, Biden’s path to 2020 hasn’t exactly been subtle. He has told allies he believes he’s the party’s best hope to beat Trump, and has been in talks with Democratic senators to take their temperature. Several have already said they will endorse him, including Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chris Coons. “Every month or so, I get a phone call from him,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin told Politico earlier this month. With supporters lined up—and the only real challenger for his centrist domain being Beto O’Rourke, the Texan superstar currently flirting with a run himself—Biden has been actively calling donors, grassroots organizers, and operatives in the buildup for a potential announcement later this month. “He feels incredibly excited to enter the race,” Democrat donor Robert Wolf told the Hill. “He feels he would be the best candidate and he’s ready to go for it. That’s what it felt like to me.”

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