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Dem Rep. Dean Phillips Gets Bolder in Calling for Primary Challenge to Joe Biden

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 14, 2023 3:00 PM

Is Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) signaling he's running against President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary? While that remains to be seen if nobody else joins the race, he's admitted that he's met with donors. Phillips was even more forthcoming when it comes to naming governors he hope will challenge the president during his Sunday morning appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."

While Phillips did say it is "a fair statement" in answering host Chuck Todd's question that he is "not interested in being a candidate for president technically yourself right now," he wants the party to move on from Biden. Categorizing the president as "a wonderful and remarkable man," he nevertheless wants to see him "pass the torch," to "cement" what Phillips sees as "this extraordinary legacy." Phillips later added that "I do believe the majority wants to move on" as well from Biden, pointing out "I listen to normal Americans every day, and my own feelings."

The congressman was clear that he doesn't see the issue about Biden's age, but in reality, many Americans, including many fellow Democrats, do. 

"No, no. This is about how people feel," Phillips said in response to Todd's question bringing up age. "By the way, it's not about what's real all the time. It's about how people feel. People want to turn the page. I think that's fair to say," he continued, also going on to gush about Biden's supposed accomplishments and try to offer that "the call to action is to ask the president to pass the torch."

Getting into specifics of who he wants to see run, Phillips referenced "a moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need," speaking about the 2024 election.

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Although Phillips and Todd discussed governors such as Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, Wisconsin's Tony Evers, Minnesota's Tim Walz, Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro, and Illinois' J.B. Pritzker, none of those governors are actually "moderate." They were all also just recently reelected--or elected, in the case of Shapiro--in 2022. 

To consider Pritzker to be a so-called "moderate" is particularly laughable. Illinois has become a Democrat wasteland of laws favoring gun control, illegal immigrants, and abortion up until birth for any reason without legal limits. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, children were kept disadvantaged due to school closures and mask mandates. Biden also won Illinois in 2020 by 17 points, with 57.6 percent of the vote to Donald Trump's 40.6 percent. 

Nevertheless, Pritzker has been considered as a contender, and not just by Phillips. 

There are apparently even more names, though Phillips and Todd mentioned some people prefer their names not be used. 

"And I'm doing something that--I know it's unpopular with Democrats. But I'm speaking truth. That's my job," Phillips went on to stress, adding his duty is not just to represent his constituents, but also "the mass majority." He later went on to advocate how having such a discussion was "simply speaking the truth."

Phillips thus continued with his message for Democrats overall. "And I want to say this about Democrats, it's really important. Joe Biden right now is down seven points in the four swing states that will decide the next election. He has historically low approval numbers, Chuck. There are about 55 percent of Democrats would like to see an alternative."

Biden does, in fact, have historically low approval ratings, only faring better at this point in his presidency than Jimmy Carter, who was a one-term president. RealClearPolitics (RCP) currently has Biden at a 41.1 percent approval rating, while 54.2 percent disapprove. 

Carter came up later in the segment as well, in that he, along with Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush were primaried. While they won their primaries, they were defeated in the general election. 

Biden is currently facing primary challenges from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson. Phillips still wants to see more challengers, though, specifically Democratic primary challengers. During his appearance last week on CBS News' "Face the Nation," Phillips explained that he doesn't consider Kennedy to be a true Democrat, and also expressed concerns about a third-party run, such as if Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) runs under the No Party Label, and with Cornell West running as a Green Party candidate. 

Making clear he wants them running in the primaries, Phillips pointed out that "that's why we have primaries, because that doesn't undermine the likelihood of returning, in this case, a Democrat to the White House. So that is the key. Enter the primary, my friends. Everybody who is on the bench, meet the moment. Don't wait five years. We need you now."

As to if Phillips himself will run, he phrased the matter as encouraging others to run "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," he pointed out to Todd. He later shared that "I'll make the decision once I do my darndest in the next month or so to encourage others to do so. Please, this is an appeal to everybody of good conscience and good character. Let's turn the page. And imagine how fun, hopeful, and exciting it would be. We're going to do it," to close the segment.