Rep. Dean Phillips ‘thinking’ about 2024 run to challenge Biden

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) said he is considering a 2024 challenge to President Joe Biden after viable primary opponents failed to come forward.

“I am thinking about it. I haven’t ruled it out,” he told political strategist Steve Schmidt on a new episode of The Warning out on Friday morning.

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Phillips has called on Biden to “pass the torch” to other emerging stars in the Democratic Party, with no success. The Minnesota congressman said that the public doesn’t want Biden nor former President Donald Trump, adding that people are seeking an alternative.

He had encouraged several popular rising star Democratic governors to challenge Biden, but they have instead united behind him. Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and others are working on behalf of Biden’s 2024 reelection despite calls for them to jump in the race.

Phillips noted that one of these people would still be ideal. “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 explained. “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. I’m concerned that something could happen between now and next November that would make the Democratic convention in Chicago an unmitigated disaster,” Phillips said. Biden is 80 years old and would be 86 at the end of a second term.

His likely opponent, Trump, who is leading the Republican field, is 77.

Over the summer, it was reported that Phillips was meeting with donors to discuss a possible presidential bid for himself. Since then, he has made multiple pleas on national media for prominent Democrats to join the race and take Biden on, but none have heeded his call.

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In recent polls, more than half of people have indicated that Biden and Trump are too old to serve another term as president effectively, with a significant amount saying so of Biden. As a matchup between the two men becomes more likely, calls for other candidates have increased.

The bipartisan No Labels party has been considering nominating a presidential candidate and said it would do so if the major parties put forward two candidates the majority of the country didn’t want. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is reportedly mulling over joining a No Labels ticket in 2024 and has even consulted former President Bill Clinton about it. He has further refused to rule the possibility out.