Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips declared his candidacy for president on Thursday, launching a Democratic primary challenge to President Joe Biden.
Amidst internal party dissatisfaction about his demands for a Biden substitute, the three-term congressman recently resigned from his House Democratic leadership position. He contended that the president’s age and low support ratings would make him a poor general election contender. Still, Phillips’ campaign kickoff occurs at a time when Democrats are trying to coalesce around the incumbent commander-in-chief, repel independent contenders who may wreck the party’s chances, and highlight the administration’s achievements to the public.
Phillips is slated to formally launch his campaign Friday in Concord, where he will file for the Democratic primary in New Hampshire. He debuted his campaign’s first advertisement on Friday morning, a 60-second clip in the Granite State that included some personal details about him without specifically mentioning Biden.
“I think President Biden has done a spectacular job for our country, but it’s not about the past. This is an election about the future. I will not sit still, I will not be quiet in the face of numbers that are so clearly saying that we’re going to be facing an emergency next November,” Phillips told CBS News in a clip posted on Instagram.
As of right now, Biden’s competition for the nomination is minimal. Author Marianne Williamson is challenging him, but her money has been inadequate and she has not been able to build any momentum in the polls. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer, had been a contender in the Democratic primary until he withdrew earlier this month and decided to run as an independent.
Phillips’s intentions follow the confirmation by Biden’s team, citing direction from the Democratic National Committee, that the president will not be listed on the ballot for the New Hampshire primary.
According to two persons with knowledge of the campaign, Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategist, is advising Phillips. After working on the campaigns of the late Arizona Senator John McCain and former President George W. Bush, Schmidt quit the Republican Party in 2018.
