Democratic Candidate Phillips to Remain in Race to Challenge Trump

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips changed his mind about his self-imposed deadline to end his bid for the White House by March 5 if he did not gain enough support from voters, saying on Tuesday that he will stay in the race “as long as it takes” to go head-to-head with President Donald Trump, The Hill reported.

The Minnesota Democrat told CNN’s “This Morning” that “I’m recognizing that there is an immense need to keep this challenge going.”

Phillips announced in October that he would run against President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination and then posted on X the next month that “I’ll be clear — if my campaign is not viable after March 5, I’ll wrap it up and endorse the likely nominee — Biden or otherwise. I will then campaign for them as vigorously as I’m campaigning now. I’m not here for games — the goal is to maximize the odds of beating Trump.”

Phillips also said he is not running for reelection for his seat in the House.

He is campaigning hard in New Hampshire for Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primary, where Biden’s name won’t appear on the ballot due to a dispute with state Democrats when the Democratic National Committee decided it wanted South Carolina to be the first primary.

Biden, taking the side of the DNC, did not campaign in the state.

Phillips criticized the grassroots attempt to urge New Hampshire voters to write in Biden’s name, saying “I’m telling you, he’s going to be the very weak candidate.”

Phillips predicted to CNN that he would finish “in the 20s” in New Hampshire, saying: “I’m trying to shake it up. We need to. Donald Trump is going to win. Joe Biden is a fine man, but he’s going to lose.”