Dean Phillips Suspends White House Bid
WASHINGTON — Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., suspended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday afternoon, after failing to gain any traction at all presenting himself as the younger but like minded alternative to President Joe Biden.
“But it is clear that alternative is not me. And it is clear that Joe Biden is OUR candidate and OUR opportunity to demonstrate what type of country America is and intends to be,” he said on X, the social media platform.
In the lengthy post, Phillips went on to say he ran for Congress in 2018 to resist then-President Donald Trump, and ran for president in 2024 to pursue that same goal.
Phillips entered the race in late October, pitching himself — much as Nikki Haley did on the Republican side — as a candidate who represented generational change.
He then bypassed the Iowa caucuses — this year held as a mail-in vote with results not announced until Tuesday due to a change in Democratic Party rules — and concentrated almost all his efforts on New Hampshire, where his personal campaign style seemed a good match for the electorate’s penchant for retail-style politics.
In the end, and despite the fact Biden did not appear on the ballot — again due to the change in the DNC’s rules and campaign calendar — Phillips failed to connect.
In the end, with only a grass-roots write-in campaign ensuring he wasn’t completely absent, Biden garnered 63.9% of the vote, while Phillips only pulled in 19.6%.
Since then, the moderate congressman has been almost invisible in primary state after primary state.
In announcing the end of his campaign, Phillips thanked his supporters and said he would continue to work for “a more responsive, Democratic and generationally diverse political system.”
“But today, in light of the stark reality we face, I ask you to join me in mobilizing, energizing and doing everything you can to help keep a man of decency and integrity in the White House. That’s Joe Biden,” he said, adding, “let’s lead with invitation, not confrontation, to welcome Haley supporters, Trump supporters and Uncommitted supporters to get this done. It’s our calling, it’s our legacy and it’s our time.”
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
