Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips announced that he would challenge United States President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The lawmaker will launch his 2024 campaign on Friday in New Hampshire, where he will file to appear on the state's primary ballot. During an interview, Phillips said he would make a late entry into the Democratic primary race.
Dean Phillips Announces Campaign for President
The 54-year-old lawmaker said he admires Biden, who is already 80, but noted that it is time for a new generation of Democrats to lead the party. He noted that this is particularly true with former United States President Donald Trump poised to be the Republican presidential nominee potentially.
The Minnesota Democrat said he studied polling data and was alarmed about the prospect of Trump beating Biden if the 2024 elections are a remake of the 2020 race. He added that Biden had done a spectacular job for the country but argued that the election is about the future, as per CBS News.
Phillips said that he would not sit still or stay quiet in the face of numbers that clearly showed that they would be facing an emergency next November. He described a potential second Trump term as a crisis moment for American democracy.
The lawmaker acknowledged that he still faces an uphill battle since many Democrats fervently support Biden and are convinced that he remains well-positioned to beat Trump again. However, Phillips believes that some Democratic voters are craving an alternative that can provide a generational contrast with a centrist message.
He added that he was encouraging other Democratic lawmakers to enter the race, hoping that additional competition would provide the party with a tested and strong committee. The announcement comes as Biden's re-election campaign informed New Hampshire Democrats earlier this week that the president will not appear on the state's primary ballot.
Joe Biden's Chances of Winning 2024 Elections
Phillips argued that Biden would be a weak general election candidate because of his old age and low approval ratings. The Minnesota Democrat's campaign launch comes as left-wing lawmakers are seeking to unify around Biden, fend off spoiler independence candidates, and lay out the administration's accomplishments to voters, according to CNN.
The president's allies have also described talk of Phillips running as a distraction that would only highlight Biden's weak points. The Minnesota lawmaker tried to reach out to the president in August, but Biden was unavailable.
Phillips instead spoke with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, who "heard him out" but conveyed that the president is the right person to win in 2024 and finish the job. He added that his attempts to reach the president were a "courtesy" to advise him of his intentions to run in the race.
Because of party guidelines, Biden's name will not appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot. It is part of a long-running dispute within the Democratic Party regarding which states and regions should have the first say in determining the party's presidential nominees every four years, said the Associated Press.
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