House Representative Dean Phillips (D-MN) has entered his bid for the 2024 presidential election and will be challenging President Joe Biden, 80, in the Democrat primary.
Rep. Phillips, who previously stated he would not face off against Biden, made the announcement on Thursday and told CBS News: “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.”
According to the Federal Election Commission, Phillips made his candidacy official on Thursday and filed the necessary paperwork just one day before the deadline.
“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.”
Phillips, 54, who is a millionaire businessman and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, is on his third term serving a Minnesotan suburban district in the House of Representatives. He has set up an official presidential campaign website at www.dean24.com, however, there is hardly any information on it as of now.
Rep. Phillips is currently President Biden's only serious challenger after former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced earlier this month that he would be running for President as an Independent. Author Marianne Williamson, who ran in 2020, is also in the race for 2024 but critics say she has no shot in the Democrat primary.
Phillips is expected to officially announce his presidential bid during a campaign speech in New Hampshire on Friday, according to Fox News. A bus branded with the words “Dean for President” was spotted in New Hampshire earlier this week.
Phillips has stated concerns about Biden's age for quite some time, and while he respects Biden's political achievements, the representative said it's time for Biden “to pass the torch” to the next generation of Democrat leaders.
