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It Looks Like Dean Phillips Might Have Already Made His Presidential Run Official

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 24, 2023 8:15 PM

After teasing for months that he was going to run to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party's nomination for 2024, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) has made his run official. Sarah highlighted over the weekend how an announcement could come as soon as Friday, according to POLITICO. But, his presidential tour bus has already been spotted.

Earlier on Tuesday, as David Strom at our sister site of RedState covered, Jason DeRusha, a local radio host, posted photos of the tour bus to his X account. As DeRusha pointed out, the website of Dean24.com, which appears on the tour bus, isn't yet live.

Over the summer, Phillips frequently made the rounds on Sunday shows to argue that the Democratic Party needed a new nominee. While he praised Biden's supposed accomplishments as president, Phillips also raised issues with his age, a concern that many voters--including fellow Democrats--share. 

Up until recently, Phillips remained coy as to if that primary challenger would be him. He didn't express much confidence in  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., though, claiming he didn't even consider him to be a Democrat. RFK Jr. ended up switching his affiliation anyway so as to run as an Independent rather than a Democratic challenger to Biden. 

As Spencer covered at the start of this month, Phillips stepped down from his role as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee to do with "convictions relative to the 2024 presidential race" that are "incongruent" with most fellow House Democrats. 

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Earlier on Tuesday, HuffPost published a report full of comments from Democratic lawmakers, named and unnamed, who outright lambasted Phillips' run, or at least downplayed it. Among the named members included Sens. Peter Velch (VT), Richard Blumenthal (CT), and Elizabeth Warren (MA), the latter who had run against Biden for the 2020 nomination, and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (CA). 

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (IL) was another Democrat mentioned, for his quip that "buses out of Minnesota get public attention," which is likely a reference to not only the Dean Phillips' bus spotted earlier, but Sen. Eugene McCarthy's (D-MN) run against President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.

"Phillips’ spokesperson Taylor Deacon declined to comment," according to HuffPost.

It's likely too early for polls to look at what percentage of the vote Phillips could earn. RealClearPolitics (RCP) so far only includes Biden and Marianne Williamson, with the president having a lead of +61.3. While it may be early by way of polling, Phillips has already missed the filing deadline in Nevada, a key early state.

Phillips hasn't posted much to his campaign X account in recent days, and so there isn't much there about his presidential run. His most recent post, currently the pinned post from October 17, is a video message declaring in part that "Everyone's Invited," which seems to be a campaign slogan of sorts for him.

He did, however, make news on Tuesday for expressing a willingness to help House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) earn the gavel as speaker by sitting out on the vote. Emmer only had the Republican nomination for a matter of hours though, before dropping out due to a lack of support from fellow Republicans.