Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips could face primary challenger after he floated challenging Biden

Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips could face primary challenger after he floated challenging Biden

October 06, 2023 10:35 AM

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) may soon have a challenger for his congressional seat in the North Star State after he floated that a Democrat should challenge President Joe Biden in 2024.

The Minnesota Democrat has reportedly garnered a potential opponent in the primary, with Democratic Party official Ron Harris telling Punchbowl News he has been making phone calls about a run for Phillips’s seat. He told the outlet that his focus is to keep the congressional district blue.

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“My main focus is making sure that this district stays in Democratic hands,” Harris said. “Dean is making a lot of noise about potentially running for president and that’s kind of where we’re at today. That’s the foundation of which I’m exploring this run.”

Phillips represents Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, which has a partisan voting index of Democrat +8, according to the Cook Political Report. The Minnesota Democrat won his seat in 2018, defeating incumbent Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen 55.6%-44.2%, and most recently won reelection in 2022 by nearly 20%.

Over the weekend, Phillips announced he would be stepping down from House Democratic leadership after serving as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

“My convictions relative to the 2024 presidential race are incongruent with the majority of my caucus, and I felt it appropriate to step aside from elected leadership,” he said in a statement to Axios on Sunday.

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Phillips has openly floated running against Biden in 2024, saying he has not “ruled it out,” after sounding the alarm to Democrats that Biden may be more vulnerable to a loss in the presidential election than the party believes.

“The numbers are horrific — the polling numbers: 55% of Democrats wanting an alternative, independents about 73% want an alternative, and let me just assume that 100% moderate Republican never-Trumpers are saying we want an alternative, we will not vote for the sitting president,” Phillips said on CNN in August.

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