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Report: Joe Biden says Bernie Sanders doing "a helluva job"

Vice President Joe Biden has not yet decided whether he'll challenge Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, but he had some kind words Wednesday for one of Clinton's declared opponents.

"I am not a populist. But Bernie Sanders, he's doing a helluva job," Biden said of the Vermont senator who's emerged as Clinton's strongest rival on the left, according to Politico.

VP Biden keeps America guessing over 2016 bid plans 01:41

The remark, delivered at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser in Miami, raised some eyebrows among attendees.

"What the hell was he saying? I mean, 90 percent of the room is a Hillary donor," one person present told Politico.

"Yeah. It was kinda weird," added another.

Clinton remains the favorite for the nomination, but the continued controversy over her use of a private email server as secretary of state has left some Democrats seeking a contingency plan, in case their frontrunner falters.

Biden has been consulting his political advisers and sounding out prominent Democrats about a bid, and he's expected to make a decision sometime this month.

A CBS News poll released last month found Clinton at 58 percent nationally, Sanders at 17 percent, and Biden at 11 percent.

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