President Joe Biden has some competition heading into 2024, with one Democratic lawmaker saying he is going all-in to win his party’s nomination.
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) told the Star Tribune that he won’t be seeking re-election to the U.S. House and will instead “pass the torch” to another Democrat — something he wishes Biden would do.
“It’s been the most joyful experience of my life representing the most civically engaged community in the nation in Congress,” Phillips wrote on X. “But it’s time to pass the torch, it’s time for change, and our best days are yet to come!”
It’s been the most joyful experience of my life representing the most civically engaged community in the nation in Congress.
But it’s time to pass the torch, it’s time for change, and our best days are yet to come! https://t.co/fes98Wk66I
— Congressman Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) November 24, 2023
Phillips could have chosen to do both: run for president and campaign to keep his Congressional seat. Minnesota’s filing deadline for Congress is in early June. But doing so, Phillips believes, would be “irresponsible.”
“The fact is, I intend to be running for president well beyond that,” he told the Star Tribune. “[I]t would be irresponsible to continue to string both my constituents along and the other candidates who both have entered the race and who might be interested in entering the race.”
According to the Tribune, “The third-term congressman’s decision leaves Minnesota’s Third Congressional District seat up for grabs. DFL state Sen. Kelly Morrison, who’s also a practicing OB-GYN, and Democratic National Committee member Ron Harris have both announced campaigns for Phillips’ congressional seat. And DFL Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon recently said he would consider a run if Phillips left his seat.”
Both Morrison and Harris are strong “next-generation candidates,” Phillips said, but he won’t be making an endorsement.
“There are great candidates waiting,” he said. “I think one of our problems in the United States right now is the unwillingness of people in positions of power … to pass the torch.”
With his election in Minnesota in 2018, Phillips flipped his Third District seat blue for the first time in more than 50 years. In both 2020 and 2022, he sailed easily to victory, but once he began calling on Biden to forgo his bid for re-election, his fellow Democrats began to turn on him.
“Leading Democrats in both Washington, D.C., and Minnesota have criticized Phillips for challenging Biden,” the Tribune reports. “Phillips stepped down from his House Democratic leadership post last month.”
Returning to Congress now, Phillips said, would be “both unproductive and uncomfortable, and that plays a role as well.”
“It became very difficult for me to comport congregating on a daily basis with people who I think know better and should be doing better, and that’s the truth,” Phillips admitted. “And I say that with affection for my friendships but disappointment in principle.”
Democrats, he stated, are “sleepwalking into an unmitigated disaster next November,” as evidenced by the polls that show former President Donald Trump leading Biden in some key battleground states.
Donald Trump is beating the Joe Biden in 16 of 18 November polls by an average of 2.3%
But a “generic” Democrat beats Trump 48-40, a massive 10 point difference.
You can call me anything you want as long I beat Trump. pic.twitter.com/vrRLhc8mJW
— Congressman Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) November 25, 2023
“If I’m the only one saying the quiet part out loud, then so be it,” the presidential hopeful said. “We need more people willing to torpedo their careers.”
He dismissed rumors that he would one day make a run for Minnesota’s governor’s mansion or seek a Senate seat.
“I had no aspiration to run for governor, I had no aspiration to run for Senate,” he said. “And I’m making it very clear right now: Never aspired to it and never will run for either of those things. Ever.”
Career politicians — those who block others from seeking office — he noted, are what is wrong with the political system in America.
“It is stifling democracy and it has got to change,” he said.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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