Democrat Congressman Calls For Colleagues To Primary Biden

Minnesota Democrat Rep. Dean Phillips wants more Democrats to enter the 2024 primary field against President Joe Biden.

Phillips told NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he wants Biden to “pass the torch” to new and younger leaders. 

“I would like to see a moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need,” he said. 

He continued, “Anybody who wants to run, Joe Manchin, Cornel West… that's why we have primaries because that doesn't undermine the likelihood of returning, in this case, a Democrat to the White House. I'm actively inviting, encouraging to some degree, imploring, that people who are ready and know it's probably time to do so take the chance.”

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said last week that he is seriously considering leaving the Democrat Party and registering as an Independent. Third-party political organization No Labels has also floated the moderate Democrat as a potential third-party presidential candidate. (RELATED: Sen. Manchin Seriously Considering Leaving Democrat Party)

Fox News' Lisa Boothe countered that Democrats would preferably have a president other than Biden but realize they would be “stuck” with Vice President Kamala Harris. 

“I saw a recent poll where even 50% of Democrats wanted a different nominee in the 2024 election. I think I've seen the number as high as 75%, right? So they'd love to get rid of him, but then you're stuck with Kamala Harris and so that presents an interesting scenario for them. How do you get rid of both of them? I mean, Kamala Harris is the least popular vice president in American history, even less popular than Dick Cheney after he shot someone. So that's saying something [and] that's the challenge for them,” she explained on “The Big Weekend Show.” 

However, co-host Joe Concha warned that it would be a waste to challenge Biden's re-election.

“Joe Biden can run, and Joe Biden can win. And I look at this New York Times focus group, and it was done by Kristen Soltis Anderson, [who] I think is quite good at what she does. And they took 12 Biden voters, and they asked all 12 of them, this is 2020 Biden voters. Do you think Joe Biden's a strong leader? All 12 answered no. Do you think he's disappointing as a president? All 12 answer yes. Do you think he should run in 2024? All 12 answer no. Who are you voting for in 2024? All 12 answer Joe Biden,” Concha highlighted. 

“People vote against candidates these days, not for them. And that's what I think the Democrats are banking,” he added. 

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