How Gov. Candidate Beau Biden Compares To Dad Joe

Delaware's attorney general and Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, is running for governor, he announced Thursday. In the midst of all the brouhaha about the Vice President's political future, we've now got at least one Biden confirmed in the 2016 political race. Beau passed on a chance to run for Joe's Delaware senate seat in 2010, despite a colossal advantage he holds in name recognition. In just two generations, the Bidens are about as close to a Delaware political dynasty as it gets.

And it doesn't take much, frankly, to be elected in Delaware, with the state's population falling just short of one million. Familiarity counts for a lot. But for a state that got to know Joe so well for years, how many similarities might they find in his gubernatorial-minded son? Here are five ways the father-son political duo are similar — and ways they're not.

1. Both Of Them Have Had Worrisome Health Issues

Back in 1988, following a disastrous primary campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination just months prior, then-Senator Joe Biden began experiencing severe neck pain, so bad that he checked into the hospital. It was lucky that he took it seriously — he had an aneurysm, one of two he'd undergo surgery to repair, his condition seeming at one point so dire that a priest performed last rites on him. He was just 46 at the time, and has since had no complications.

Beau, in 2010, experienced a similarly blindsiding health crisis. At the relatively young age of 41, he suffered a "mini-stroke," and in August 2013 was hospitalized for weakness and disorientation.

2. Beau Served In The Military, Joe Did Not

With presidential aspirations possibly on the horizon, familiar media inquiries about the elder Biden's military service could come up. For Joe, it will not. Joe never served in the U.S. military, reportedly receiving a draft notice during Vietnam, but flunking his physical due to asthma.

Beau, on the other hand, has precisely the kind of politically-advantageous service record Democratic strategists like to see — he joined the Delaware National Guard in 2003, and was deployed to Iraq in 2008.

3. Going "Off-Script" Can Be Dangerous

It's likely you don't even need to be reminded of the impressive litany of Joe Biden gaffes, committed both during and prior to his arrival at the White House.

But sometimes Beau puts his foot in his mouth, too, when things get a little less scripted and a little more free-wheeling. For example: when he talked down Mitt Romney for not running for reelection in Massachusetts, despite speaking at the Democratic convention in North Carolina, where then-Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue had decided not to run for a second term.

"I've never met a successful politician who didn't run again." Oops.

4. Looks Like Baldness Skipped a Generation

Despite what he'd like you to think, Joe Biden is balder than he looks. For years, it's been not-so-secret knowledge within Washington that Joe's hair is not as natural as it might be — it's been widely theorized he got hair plugs at some point in the 1980s. When he was asked by a Washington Post reporter in 1987, he kept mum: "Guess I've got to keep some mystery in my life."

Beau, on the other hand, is known for his impeccably-coifed, thick head of hair — though in a recent public appearance, he seems to have moved to a short-crop, which has left many speculating as to the extent of his recent health issues.

5. They Basically Have The Exact Same Voice

Seriously! Cue them up back to back, the tone and intonation are almost identical.

Pretty uncanny, huh?

Image: Getty Images