Washington, September 29 (RHC)-- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has not yet announced a bid to enter the 2016 presidential race but he will make the most popular presidential candidate if he does, a new poll shows.

Forty percent of Americans have a positive image of the vice president and 28 percent a negative one, said results of an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Monday, putting him on top of the list compared to other hopefuls. The results also compared other candidates.

“If the 2016 election was held today, voters overall say they'd back Clinton over Trump by 10 points (49 percent to 39 percent), but the former secretary of state would be statistically tied with Fiorina (45 percent for Fiorina, compared to 44 percent for Clinton), Carson (46 percent for Carson, compared to 45 percent for Clinton), and former Florida governor Jeb Bush (44 percent for Bush, compared to 45 percent for Clinton),” NBC said.

It added that Biden’s popularity could stem from the simple reason that he remains undecided whether to enter the race, and the partly due to the tragedy he recently experienced.

“Most of the media coverage of the vice president's potential run has centered around his decision-making about a campaign and the outpouring of sympathy for his family after the tragic death of his son, Beau,” NBC said.