Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota says he is thinking about challenging President Biden for the 2024 Democratic nomination.
“I am thinking about it. I haven’t ruled it out,” Mr. Phillips said Friday to political strategist Steve Schmidt on his podcast “The Warning.” “I think it’s a steep slope.”
But he added that he thinks there are people who would be a better fit for the challenge than he is.
“I think there are people who are more proximate, better prepared to campaign with a national organization, national name recognition, which I do not possess,” Mr. Phillips said. “But I do feel strongly and I have a conviction that it’s important for democracy to have choices, to have competition.”
He expressed concern that “there is no alternative” and that “something could happen between now and next November that would make the Democratic convention in Chicago an unmitigated disaster.”
The Minnesota Democrat said he started receiving inquiries in July about whether he was open to running for president, and met with donors to assess his potential.
Still, Mr. Phillips, 54, said he thinks his bid for the presidency would be met with laughter, distaste and disgust, but his age would appeal to voters who are concerned that Mr. Biden, 80, is too old to effectively serve another term.
He has called for an alternative candidate multiple times.
“I do still think there’s some time for somebody to enter,” he said. “I’m still encouraging others who I think are better prepared right now to run a great campaign.”
Mr. Phillips urged potential candidates not to wait to “serve their country” until 2028 because the country is “begging for alternatives.”
“Whether that’s me, whether it’s somebody else — time will tell, but I think it’s important that somebody recognize that this is the time,” he said.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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