Rep. Dean Phillips dropped his longshot bid for the Democratic nomination Wednesday, the day after he failed to make much of an impact in Super Tuesday contests. The Minnesota lawmaker told WCCO that he is suspending his campaign. The 55-year-old launched the bid in October, saying it was "time for the torch to be passed to a new generation of American leaders." In a post on X Wednesday, Phillips endorsed President Biden. He said he ran for president to resist Donald Trump "because Americans were demanding an alternative, and democracy demands options."
"We will continue the important work to ensure a more responsive, democratic, and generationally diverse political system," Phillips wrote. "But today, in light of the stark reality we face, I ask you join me in mobilizing, energizing, and doing everything you can to help keep a man of decency and integrity in the White House. That's Joe Biden." Phillips, heir to a liquor company, is one of the richest members of Congress; filings show he spent around $4 million of his own money on the campaign, the New York Times reports.
Phillips' campaign peaked with a second-place finish in New Hampshire, where Biden wasn't on the ballot, the Times reports. On Tuesday, he finished third in his home state's primary, behind Biden and "Uncommitted." "Congratulations to Joe Biden, Uncommitted, Marianne Williamson, and Nikki Haley for demonstrating more appeal to Democratic Party loyalists than me," he said in a post on X. Phillips, who was elected to the House in 2018, said in November that he would not seek re-election if his presidential campaign failed. Democratic analyst Abou Amara called the White House run a huge "strategic blunder" from somebody who had been considered a rising star in the party, per WCCO. (More Dean Phillips 2024 stories.)
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