How Joe Biden went from being a kid from Scranton to a six-term Senator, VP, and now a 2020 Democratic presidential frontrunner

• Former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, is surging ahead in the 2020 Democratic primary election, after carving out a huge win on Super Tuesday.
• As of March 4, Biden holds the lead on delegates, acquiring at least 408 on Super Tuesday and putting himself slightly ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders.
• Former Democratic candidates Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Michael Bloomberg have dropped out of the race to endorse Biden.
• At this point in the primary season, the competition stands between Biden and Sanders.
• Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Former Vice President Joe Biden jumped in the race for president in April 2019. Though he initially had a commanding lead in the polls, it began to erode as rivals such as Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren surged forward.

But things are looking positive for Biden after he dominated on Super Tuesday. He took home victories in 10 of the 14 states up for grabs – including delegate-rich Texas – and has since taken the lead in the race.

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on November 20, 1942 to a used car salesman, Biden moved with his family to Mayfield, Delaware, when he was 13 years old. From the get-go, he faced many trials growing up, including bullies and an embarrassing stutter.

As he says his father taught him, “The measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up.”

Throughout his long political trajectory, Biden has lived by his father's advice, and gotten back up after facing countless tragedies and challenges to achieve his political dreams.

Here's how a kid from Scranton became a six-term senator, vice president, and now a 2020 presidential contender.

Joe Perticone contributed to an earlier version of this article.

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965, where he developed an interest in politics following President John F. Kennedy's inauguration. During his first two years, though, he was mainly interested in football and partying.

Source: Biography.com, Times

He met his first wife Neilia on a spring break trip in the Bahamas his junior year. The couple had three children: Joseph "Beau" Hunter III, Robert Hunter, and Naomi Christina Hunter.

Sources: Biography, CNN

Fresh out of University of Syracuse law school in 1968, Biden started working as a defense attorney in Wilmington, Delaware, and launched his own law firm in 1971. He first entered politics as a member of the New Castle County Council in 1970.

After encouragement from the Democratic Party, Biden ran for US Senate in 1972 and won, unseating Republican J. Caleb Boggs to become the fifth-youngest senator in history. He would continue serving as Delaware's senator for over 30 years.

Sources: Biography, CNN

A month after the election, Biden's wife Neilia and daughter Naomi were killed in a car accident while Christmas shopping on December 18, 1972. The crash also left his two sons Hunter and Beau seriously injured.

Sources: Biography, CNN

Despite his intense personal loss, Biden was sworn in as Senator in January of 1973 from a hospital in Wilmington where his sons were still recovering from the accident that killed their mother and sister.

Source: Biography

Following the crash, Biden said he became seriously suicidal: "I felt God had played a horrible trick on me, and I was angry." Just like his father had taught him, Biden got back up after his family tragedy.

Sources: Biography, Time

Biden got his hands dirty as a young Senator — working on consumer protection, international arms control, and crime in the 1970s. He met his current wife, Jill, on a blind date his brother arranged in 1975. The two married in 1977, and their daughter, Ashley Blazer, was born in 1981.

Biden won reelection yet again in 1982, and in 1984, became one of the main managers in the Senate for the passage of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, a sweeping crime bill that, although controversial, represented one of his most important legislative accomplishments up to that point.

Sources: Biography, US Congress, Chicago Tribune

Having gained foreign policy experience in the late 1970s, Biden clashed with the Reagan administration over the SALT treaties to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, and over sanctions against apartheid in South Africa.

Sources: Biography, CNN

In 1987, Biden became the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a role he held until 1995. It was largely due to his tough questioning that Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork was not confirmed.

In 1987, Biden entered the 1988 presidential race — his first, but not his last, run for Commander in Chief. But he had to drop out of the primaries because of reports he had plagiarized part of a speech.

Sources: Biography, CNN

Shortly afterward, Biden had to overcome another potential tragedy. His doctors found two possibly deadly aneurysms in his brain. In 1988, he underwent two different life-saving surgeries. Seven months later, Biden was back in Congress.

Sources: Biography, CNN

In January 1990, Biden introduced another landmark bill — the Violence Against Women Act, which reformed penalties for sexual assault and domestic abuse. The bill eventually passed, and President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1994.

Source: CNN

Under former President George W. Bush, Biden became the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and utilized his past foreign policy experience as committee chairman from 2001-03, and again from 2007 to 2009. In 2002, Biden voted to authorize the War in Iraq, but later criticized the war and especially the 2007 troop surge.

Sources: Biography, CNN, Atlantic

In 2007, Biden decided to run for president again — and while his run this time was scandal-free, he dropped out of the primaries after falling behind then-Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Source: CNN

But he got on the ticket after Obama clinched the Democratic Party nomination in mid-2008, and chose Biden as his running mate.

Source: CNN

In November 2008, Obama won a landslide election to become the country's first black president, with Biden joining him as vice president. The pair defeated Sen. John McCain and his running mate, former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin.

Source: CNN

During his tenure as vice president, Biden worked largely behind the scenes, and while he was known to be somewhat gaffe-prone, he spearheaded important legislative efforts around gun control, fiscal policy, and foreign policy.

Obama again chose Biden as his running mate in 2012, and the two were overwhelmingly reelected. That May, Biden famously made comments that insiders say fast-tracked the Obama administration's declaration of support for same-sex marriage.

Sources: Biography, CNN, Atlantic, POLITICO

During Obama's presidency, he and Biden developed a close friendship — even at one point jokingly making friendship bracelets for each other.

Source: Business Insider

Toward the end of his second term as VP, tragedy struck Biden yet again. His son Beau, who had been battling brain cancer, died at age 46 on May 30, 2015. "Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known," the heartbroken father wrote.

Sources: Biography, CNN, Business Insider

Although he was encouraged to run for president for a third time in 2016, Biden declined to do so. Beau's death played a prominent role in his decision.

Source: Biography

Many, including Biden himself, believed he would have fared better than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton did, and beaten Trump had he run.

In one of his last acts as president, Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2017. During his speech, Obama celebrated not just Biden's achievements, but also his own personal "bromance" with his vice president.

Biden's down-to-earth demeanor and passion for sensible policy will likely leave many fondly remembering his nearly 50 years of public service. But he is also contending with significant criticisms for support of controversial legislation over several decades.

Source: Huffington Post

Biden had to address accusations he inappropriately touched several women and made them feel uncomfortable.

Source: The New York Times

Biden launched his 2020 campaign in April, marking the third White House bid of his career.

Source: The Associated Press

Biden has made establishing himself as the antidote to President Donald Trump a cornerstone of his campaign.

Source: Business Insider

Biden stirred controversy in mid-June when he fondly recalled his time in Congress working with two segregationist senators. He was pummeled for the remarks by Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, the only two black Democratic presidential candidates. Booker said: "I know Joe Biden. He's better than this. And this is a moment where he should have spoken to the issue, allowed everybody to learn from it and move on." After initially refusing to apologize, Biden did so two weeks later.

Sources: The New York Times, Business Insider

Biden sparred with Harris over his civil rights record at the June Democratic primary debate. She sharply criticized Biden's "very hurtful comments" about working with segregationist senators and brought attention to his past opposition to busing. He fired back, calling it "a mischaracterization."

Source: The New York Times

Biden's moderate platform has made him vulnerable to attack from the progressive wing of the party, particularly from Sen. Bernie Sanders on healthcare. Biden rolled out his own plan in July, which would shore up the Affordable Care Act by injecting massive new subsidies into its exchanges and expand it with a government-run public insurance option.

Sources: Politico, Business Insider

At the July Democratic primary debate, Biden came under fire from Booker over his 1994 criminal justice bill, which increased the incarceration rates of black Americans.

Source: Business Insider

An Insider poll began collecting data on Biden's ability to defeat Donald Trump in August. From August to February, an average of 64% of voters polled believed Joe Biden was the strongest candidate to defeat Trump.

Source: Business Insider, Business Insider

But as early voting progressed, Biden faced the surging threat of Bernie Sanders, after the Senator took home victories in all three early voting states: Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

Source: Business Insider

In early February, just over half of Democratic voters polled said they thought Biden could beat Trump in the general election, reflecting a 14-point hit as Sanders gained traction.

Source: Business Insider

But Super Tuesday brought the former vice president back toward the lead. Biden took home victories in 10 of the 14 states — including delegate-rich Texas — giving him the most delegates out of any candidate in the race so far.

Source: Business Insider

Super Tuesday results showed that Biden dominated among southern and older black voters.

Source: Business Insider

As he goes head-to-head with Sanders, Biden has seen a surge in political endorsements. Former presidential candidates Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and Michael Bloomberg have dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden's campaign.

Sources: Business Insider, Business Insider

Insider polling suggests that Biden is considered one of the most centrist candidates in the race, and the most experienced candidate running for president. After Super Tuesday, there are still 131 days until the Democratic National Convention, and 244 days until Election Day.

Source: Business Insider