Biden files to get public money for 2008 campaign

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Long-shot Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Joseph Biden filed on Friday to obtain public financing to keep his campaign alive.

Biden, who has raised $8.2 million for his bid and has spent about $6.3 million, submitted paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to qualify for government matching funds to help him compete in what will likely be the most expensive U.S. presidential campaign in history.

"We are taking every step to ensure that we will have the necessary resources to compete in Iowa and the other early states," said Luis Navarro, Biden's campaign manager.

The Delaware senator's campaign said it would decide over the next month whether to accept the money.

Biden has polled largely in the single digits, well behind front-runners Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who have each raised tens of millions of dollars.

Biden's position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which deals with the Iraq war, has helped raise his profile among voters.

John Edwards, the former Democratic North Carolina senator who is third in most polls, has already said he would take public financing for his White House bid.

Those who take public funds are required to adhere to strict spending limits. The system, created in the 1970s after the Watergate scandal, is financed by taxpayers who check a box on their tax returns.

The expected high cost of the 2008 White House campaign, which could easily surpass the nearly $300 million raised by President George W. Bush in 2004, made it enticing to opt out of public financing and avoid the spending limits it imposes.

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online here)

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by David Alexander and Peter Cooney)