Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips will meet with donors and weigh in on 2024 campaign kickoff against Biden with growing questions about president, 80
Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips will meet with donors and weigh in on 2024 campaign kickoff against Biden with growing questions about president, 80
- Some Democratic donors are trying to see if Representative Dean Phillips would make a primary challenge to President Joe Biden
- Phillips is a moderate congressman from a suburb of Minneapolis
- He has previously said Biden would have to run in a real primary to win the 2024 Democratic nomination
Democratic donors are trying to find out if Representative Dean Phillips, a moderate who represents the Minneapolis suburbs, would consider challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination.
Politico reported that on Friday that Phillips will travel to New York next week to meet with Democratic donors for such a talk — but that he probably won’t step in unless the 80-year-old president’s health deteriorates or political fortunes tumble.
Phillips’ name comes up because he is a rare Democrat who has publicly said that Biden should run in a legitimate Democratic primary.
“No one wants to be the one to do something that would undermine the chances of a Democratic victory in 2024,” Phillips told Politico in February. “Yet the conversation in quiet rooms is just the opposite — we could be at greater risk if this path is cleared.”
So far, the only Democrats challenging Biden are self-help guru Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latter of whom more popular with Republicans for participating in an anti-vaccination campaign.
Democratic donors are trying to woo Rep. Dean Phillips to find out if he will make a primary challenge to President Joe Biden. The Minnesota congressman previously said Biden should run in a true Democratic primary
Cornel West challenges Biden as the Green Party nominee.
The Atlantic reported this last week that West’s bid is causing some anxiety in the White House, due to the fact that he could peel some progressive support off Biden’s left — playing spoiler and allowing former President Donald Trump or another Republican to retake the White House.
Phillips is also on the radar of Democratic donors because he has spoken out against third-party competition.
In May, he denounced the No Labels group’s plan to lead a moderate third party in a race that currently looks like a Biden-Trump rematch.
He had previously been a strong supporter of the organization.
“If No Labels runs a Joe Manchin against Donald Trump and Joe Biden, I think it’s going to be a historic disaster,” Phillips said. told The New York Times. “And I speak for just about every moderate Democrat and frankly most of my moderate Republican friends.”
Politico reported on Friday that Phillips was unlikely to challenge President Joe Biden, pictured in Washington on Thursday night, unless the 80-year-old president’s health or political fortunes collapsed
Instead, Phillips has insisted that Biden’s competition should come from other Democrats in a primary, but realizes that other potential nominees-in-waiting – looking at you, California Governor Gavin Newsom – need someone else to be the first to jump in, Politico said.
The historical model comes from Senator Eugene McCarthy who in 1968 announced a presidential bid against incumbent Democratic President Lyndon Johnson.
McCarthy announced his presidential run in late 1967—aimed at ending the Vietnam War quickly—and in late March 1968, incumbent President Johnson announced he would be dropping out of the race.
Johnson’s political fortunes had plummeted because of the war, but his health had also deteriorated.
But Democrats who look at that example also realize how the election turned out.
In November 1968, Republican President Richard Nixon was elected—beating Democratic Vice President Hubert Humphrey with 110 electoral votes, but less than 1 percent of the vote.