Biden's Challenger Goes All-In

Representative Dean Phillips, a Minnesota Democrat, announced Friday he will not run for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2024 as he goes all-in on his primary campaign against President Joe Biden.

Phillips is running a long shot campaign against Biden's reelection bid in 2024. In 2018, he flipped Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District and was the first Democrat to win there since 1958 as he went on to win reelection twice. However, in late October, the 54-year-old announced he would challenge Biden—who turned 81 earlier this week—for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying the president should "pass the torch" to a new generation.

"I didn't set out to enter this race. But it looks like on our current course, the Democrats will lose and Trump will be our President again. President Biden is a good man and someone I tremendously respect. I understand why other Democrats don't want to run against him, and why we are here. This is a last-minute campaign, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and courage is an important value to me," Phillips wrote on X, formerly Twitter, announcing his presidential bid.

Meanwhile in an interview published Friday with the Star Tribune, Phillips announced he would not seek reelection, leaving Minnesota's 3rd District seat up for grabs.

In a post to X, Phillips linked Star Tribune's article and wrote, "It's been the most joyful experience of my life representing the most civically engaged community in the nation in Congress. But it's time to pass the torch, it's time for change, and our best days are yet to come!"

Newsweek has reached out to Phillips campaign via email for comment.

"I intend to be running for president well beyond," Phillips told the newspaper, adding that it would be "irresponsible to continue to string both my constituents along and the other candidates who both have entered the race and who might be interested in entering the race."

Although running for president does not prevent Phillips from seeking reelection to his House seat, since Minnesota's filing deadline for Congress isn't until early June, Phillips continued to frame his decision to leave his seat with the generational argument he has made on the presidential campaign trail.

"I think one of our problems in the United States right now is the unwillingness of people in positions of power...to pass the torch," he told the Star Tribune.

While the congressman's announcement signals an all-in effort for the presidential 2024 election, it comes just days after Phillips faced backlash and may have further hurt his chances with Democratic voters over comments he made criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris.

During an interview with The Atlantic published on Tuesday, Phillips said he had heard from others in the party that Harris may not be the right choice as president in the event that Biden cannot serve out his term.

Phillips added in his interview that he had not personally "seen those deficiencies" in Harris and was only repeating comments he had heard from others.

"I hear from others who know her a lot better than I do that many think she's not well positioned," he said. "She is not well prepared, doesn't have the right disposition and the right competencies to execute that office."

In response to the backlash, Phillips took to X to apologize to the vice president, saying that he "shouldn't have referenced other people's opinions."

"i owe an apology. in the atlantic, i shared kind words about @VP harris because that's been my personal experience and i respect her. i shouldn't have referenced other people's opinions. i own that and apologize to her and everyone who's been affected by similar circumstances," he wrote.

Meanwhile, according to a poll conducted by Yahoo News/YouGov that was published last week, 54 percent of Democratic primary voters wish to see "another Democrat" enter the 2024 race over Biden.

In the same poll, however, both of Biden's current Democratic challengers—Phillips and author Marianne Williamson—polled at just 4 percent each. The president was supported by 64 percent of those surveyed.