Democrats pile on Dean Phillips as whispers of Biden primary challenge swirl

Democrats are dismissing expectations that Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) will mount a primary challenge against President Joe Biden as “delusional.”

Phillips, a third-term congressman from Minnesota’s Minneapolis suburbs, is anticipated to announce a campaign next week, which is unlikely to secure him the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination but could embarrass Biden.

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Kate deGruyter, the senior communications director for liberal think tank Third Way who was born and raised in Phillips’s congressional district, described his “presidential flirtation” as “maddening” and “delusional.”

“Racing around the country on a doomed primary challenge does a massive disservice to his constituents — my family and friends,” deGruyter told the Washington Examiner.

DeGruyter, whose organization is coordinating with the Biden campaign to counter independent and third-party bids against the president, underscored Phillips’s own admission he is “not well positioned” for a primary run.

“Democratic leaders in Minnesota and nationally will tell you that’s a massive understatement,” she said. “He’s not going to be president, and he’s not likely to be a congressman for much longer.”

Larry Jacobs, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, agreed Phillips’s “musings” are a “mystery” and “defy familiar political calculations.”

“He’s self-immolating,” he said. “He has no campaign organization and lacks the time [and money] to stand one up. Filing deadlines to get on the state ballots are approaching or past. He lacks the national following that would give this any chance. And he’s squandering his standing in Congress and political circles.”

To the end, Phillips, who, as DeGruyter alluded, now has a challenger of his own, has already missed the deadline to take part in Nevada‘s primary. Instead, he is reportedly planning to concentrate on New Hampshire, contacting prominent state Democrats, such as party Chairman Ray Buckley, and Democratic and Republican operatives with campaign experience. New Hampshire may host a nominating contest unsanctioned by the Democratic National Committee to protest Biden’s decision to de-prioritize the state on the election calendar.

“You can’t beat something with nothing, and you can’t beat an incumbent president with a member of the House of Representatives,” University of New Hampshire political science professor Dante Scala said. “If Phillips got in today, he would have three months until the primary — just building name ID is a formidable task.”

Jacobs’s colleague Eric Ostermeier, a research fellow at the University of Minnesota and Smart Politics’s author, contended Phillips’s “stated reason,” that “Biden’s age puts him at a serious deficit to both win reelection and govern effectively for another four years,” is “on its face credible.”

Phillips’s establishment credentials could provide political cover for better-placed Democrats to challenge Biden, for example, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), according to Ostermeier. Biden’s other primary opponents include Cenk Uygur, who does not meet the Constitution’s natural-born citizenship requirement, and Marianne Williamson. Robert Kennedy Jr. dropped out this month to run as an independent, alongside Cornel West, which could create bigger problems for the president, but not until the general election.

“Phillips does not position himself to the left of Biden like many of the president’s critics and detractors,” Ostermeier said. “Another possibility is the move would increase Phillips’s visibility within the state.”

“While there is no sign either of the state’s Democratic U.S. senators are looking to retire, it is unclear whether or not Gov. Tim Walz will run for a third term in 2026,” he added. “If he does not seek reelection, the left-wing progressive lane to the nomination would likely be clogged, but the centrist path would be much more open, and a Phillips challenge to Biden would make him much more of a household name in the state.”

Phillips, the multimillionaire businessman behind Talenti Gelato with the ability to self-fund, resigned from House Democratic leadership this month over his concerns regarding Biden. He started calling on the president not to run for another term last July, citing his age and the need for “generational change.”

“The president intends to run in 2024. We are ways away from 2024. We are going to continue to focus on doing the business of the American people by delivering for families, by lowering costs for families — 2024 is so far away,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time.

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A month later, Phillips became more specific, encouraging a “moderate governor” to challenge Biden before indicating in September after speaking with donors that he himself could primary the president.

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