Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) is reportedly considering challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. The Minnesota Democrat’s comments come just weeks after Phillps said that he was “thinking” about such a run.
Phillips has reportedly reached out to a number of Democrats in New Hampshire, which hosts one of the first nominating challenges in next year’s primaries.
One of the calls was to the New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley. Phillips said that the call was to “introduce myself as I contemplate entering the Democratic primary. It was a very friendly conversation.”
Phillips had previously criticized the president, saying that Biden would not “pass the torch” to the party’s next generation. He has also met with a number of potential donors earlier this year.
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) starts calling New Hampshire Dems in step toward challenging Biden – Politico pic.twitter.com/Ri6TpByVGM
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) October 15, 2023
Phillips said last month that he had not ruled out the possibility of seeking the White House.
“I think there are people who are more proximate, better prepared to campaign with national organizations, national name recognition, which I do not possess,” Phillips said. “I’m concerned that there is no alternative.”
The Minnesota representative further said that it was “important for democracy to have choices, to have competition, particularly in light of what I’m reading — the polling, the data — and what I’m sensing in my own intuition, and I’m concerned.”
A month prior, Phillips had called for other Democrats to challenge Biden, saying that he hoped to see “a moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need.”
The potential entry of Phillips could make him the most prominent opponent to the incumbent president. 2020 candidate and author Marianne Williamson is running a longshot bid against Biden. Anti-abortion activist Terrisa Bukovinac also announced that she was challenging Biden.
The most prominent potential candidate who was challenging Biden for the nomination has since dropped out. Activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. son of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY), left the Democratic race and has since announced that he was seeking office as an independent.
