On Thursday, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota confirmed his intention to run for president, mounting a long-shot bid to challenge President Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries.
Phillips' statement of candidacy was filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission. The three-term congressman is expected to publicly announce his candidacy at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire, later today.
He stated in August that he wouldn't challenge Biden for the Democratic Party nomination. However, Phillips made clear last night his mind had changed. Speaking to CBS News' Robert Costa, he alluded to Biden's vulnerabilities in the upcoming general election: “I will not sit still, I will not be quiet in the face of numbers that are so clearly saying that we're going to be facing an emergency next November.”
Phillips recently resigned his post in the House Democratic leadership over internal grumblings about his desire for challengers to Biden's reelection bid, as The Hill noted last night:
“I think President Biden has done a spectacular job for our country. But it's not about the past,” Phillips said. “This is an election about the future.”
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was previously running in the Democratic primary until he ended his bid earlier this month and opted to run as an independent instead.
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