A Democratic congressman from Minnesota has announced he is challenging Joe Biden for the party’s presidential nomination.
Dean Phillips, 54, told an event outside New Hampshire’s statehouse: “I am today announcing my candidacy for the presidency of the United States of America.”
Mr Phillips, one of Congress’s wealthiest members, has been effusive in his praise for Mr Biden but also says their party needs younger voices to avoid a nightmare scenario where Donald Trump is re-elected next autumn.
While Mr Phillips is highly unlikely to beat Mr Biden, a run would offer a symbolic challenge to national Democrats trying to project the idea that there is no reason to doubt the president’s electability — even as many Americans question whether the 80-year-old should serve another term.
Mr Phillips may also benefit from New Hampshire Democrats angry at Mr Biden for diluting their state’s influence on the 2024 Democratic primary calendar, a change that state party chairman Ray Buckley has warned could create a “potential embarrassment” by “an insurgent candidate, serious or not”.
In a campaign video posted online, Mr Phillips promises to traipse through the snow to greet voters and “fix the economy”, a swipe at Mr Biden who has made employment and GDP growth a key part of a re-election bid built around the slogan “Bidenomics”.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for Mr Biden’s re-election campaign, said the president “is proud of the historic, unified support he has from across the Democratic Party for his re-election”.
“The stakes of next year’s election could not be higher for the American people, and the campaign is hard at work mobilising the winning coalition that President Biden can uniquely bring together to once again beat the MAGA Republicans next November,” Mr Munoz said, referring to Trump’s ”Make America Great Again” movement.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also noted earlier in the week Mr Phillips’ voting record and said: “We appreciate the congressman’s almost 100 per cent support of this president.”
And, though Mr Biden will not officially run in New Hampshire’s primary and will be requiring a write-in campaign. the president is planning to head next week to Mr Phillips’ home state for an official event and fundraiser.
Moments before Mr Phillips even announced, Minnesota Democratic governor Tim Walz sent a Biden re-election campaign fundraising email titled “Minnesotans love Joe Biden” and took an indirect swipe at the congressman, writing that some of his state’s residents sometimes “make political side shows for themselves”,
Indeed, Mr Biden has long cast himself as uniquely qualified to beat Mr Trump again after his 2020 win, and top Democrats have lined up behind him while also positioning themselves for a future primary run.
Mr Phillips has already missed the deadline to enter Nevada’s primary and is little known nationally. Still, he argues Mr Biden may not be able to beat Mr Trump again, telling CBS News in an interview that aired Friday that polling suggests “we’re going to be facing an emergency next November”.
“I think it’s time for a new generation,” he said. “I think it’s time to pass the torch”.
