Rep. Dean Phillips Considering Primary Challenge Against Biden

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., says he is mulling a challenge to President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic Party primary in the absence of any other viable candidates.

“I am thinking about it,” Phillips told “The Warning with Steve Schmidt” on Friday. “I haven’t ruled it out.”

The Minnesota congressman called on Biden to end his campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination last month, saying his opinion was based on “how people feel.”

“I would like to see Joe Biden, a wonderful and remarkable man, pass the torch — cement this extraordinary legacy,” Phillips said in August. “And by the way, this is not how everybody thinks, but I do believe the majority wants to move on.”

Though both environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and self-help author Marianne Williamson have entered the race for the Democrat nomination, Phillips said his ideal candidate would be a “moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need.”

Phillips pointed to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as potential contenders; however, both have united behind Biden, as well as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, despite calls for them to run.

“I think there are people who are more proximate — better prepared to campaign with a national organization, national name recognition, which I do not possess,” he said Friday. “But I do feel strongly and I have a conviction that it’s important for democracy to have choices, to have competition.”

“I do still think there’s some time for somebody to enter. I’m still encouraging others who I think are better prepared right now to run a great campaign,” he added.

“I’m concerned that there is no alternative,” Phillips said. “I’m concerned that something could happen between now and next November that would make the Democratic convention in Chicago an unmitigated disaster.”

Biden is now 80 years old and would be 86 by the end of a second White House term.

His likely opponent, former President Donald Trump, who is currently the Republican frontrunner, is 77.

Phillips reportedly met with Democratic donors in July to explore the possibility of entering the 2024 race. He has since repeatedly urged prominent Democrats to join the race and take on Biden.