Campaign developments
Phillips made an official announcement for his candidacy on October 27 in Concord, New Hampshire. [9] Due to his late entry, he did not appear on the ballot in the Nevada primary, although he filed to make the New Hampshire ballot the day before the deadline. [30] He has been criticized by Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, as well as Representative Dina Titus, for skipping the state. [31] Representative Bennie Thompson called Phillips' decision to campaign in New Hampshire "'disrespectful' to voters of color", [32] while Jim Clyburn stated that Phillips was not "respecting the wishes of the ... head of our Party." [33] Additionally, Senator Tina Smith sent a one-minute video to the Washington Press Club Foundation’s annual congressional dinner "roasting" Phillips over his campaign to challenge President Biden for the Democratic Party's nomination for president. [34] [35] Phillips argued to his detractors in the Democratic party that “the idea that voters having a choice in the primary will ultimately threaten democracy by throwing the election to Trump demonstrates how far off the rails we’ve gotten”. [36] Phillips told CNN that when he entered the presidential race, “This was not about me.” He continued, “But my inability to attract other candidates, to inspire the president to recognize that it is time, compels me to serve my country because it appears that President Joe Biden is going to lose the next election.” [13]
On the day of the campaign launch, Phillips was asked by The Daily Beast about receiving a donation from Harlan Crow, a major donor to the Republican Party and close friend with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for his 2020 re-election. Phillips responded that he did not recall speaking with or meeting Crow. [37]
According to Steve Schmidt, an early Phillips' campaign advisor [38] who left the campaign shortly after its launch, the focus would be on the early primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Michigan. [9]
In November 2023, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College and the Dartmouth Political Union co-hosted a discussion with Phillips as part of their "Path to the Presidency" speaker series to discuss his campaign and policy positions. [39] [40] [41]
In New Hampshire, Phillips hit the campaign trail with a “Dean Phillips for President” bus, and his 1960 International Harvester milk truck, dubbed the “government repair truck,” made an appearance repainted with “Dean Phillips for President.” [42]
Phillips said in his 100 days as President that he intends to build "the most extraordinary bipartisan cabinet in American history." As for other first 100-day priorities, Phillips also said he intends to use “zero-based budgeting” and hire an international consulting firm to conduct a “top-down assessment” of the federal government. [43]
On January 18, Phillips holds campaign events in Manchester and Hanover, New Hampshire, with 2020 Democratic Primary presidential candidate Andrew Yang. [44]
On January 20, 2024, Phillips told Axios that he thought it would be "impossible" for Biden to do the job for four more years, and that "At that stage of life, it is impossible ultimately to conduct, to prosecute the office of the American presidency in the way that this country in the world needs right now. That is an absolute truth." [45]
On January 23, Phillips scolded reporters during a press gaggle in New Hampshire on Monday ahead of the state's primary election, saying they weren't focused on the issues Americans care about. Phillips told them that voters care about the economy, inflation, health care, Social Security, the problem with homelessness in their cities, and improving education. And he reiterated that their "clickbait" questions were not what the average American cares about. [46]
Phillips insisted throughout his campaign that the Democratic Party had become ‘delusional’ for thinking that Biden could overtake former President Trump in a rematch. An argument and central critique of Phillips's campaign is that if Democrats created room for a competitive primary against the unpopular sitting president, voters would hypothetically have a chance to hear other points of view. [47] [48] [49]
On January 27, President Biden and Phillips spoke about their bids for the Democratic Nomination at the South Carolina Democratic Party's First-in-the-Nation Celebration dinner in Columbia, South Carolina. [50]
Phillips received 19.9% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, coming in second place to Joe Biden's write-in campaign. [51] There were no delegates at stake in the New Hampshire primary because the Democratic National Committee said state party officials violated national party rules by scheduling its contest earlier than allowed. [52] Phillips received less than 2% of the vote in the South Carolina primary. Phillips was not on the ballot in Nevada because his candidacy began after the state's filing deadline. In the California Democratic presidential primary, Phillips received 2.8 percent of the total votes cast, with 100,284 votes. [53] In the Ohio Democratic Presidential primary, Phillips received three of Ohio’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention. He met the 15% threshold of votes in an individual congressional district needed to receive a delegate in the state’s 2nd, 6th, and 14th congressional districts. [54] In the Nebraska Democratic Presidential Primary, Phillips earned a single delegate to the Democratic National Convention after he received the most votes of any candidate in Logan County, Nebraska, with 55.6% of the vote. [55]
Disputes with DNC and state Democratic parties
Phillips has objected to being left off the primary ballots of several states by their respective Democratic parties, including in Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Phillips filed challenges with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and these state parties and has stated that he is considering legal options to regain ballot access. [56] In these states, there is no explicit filing process with the state Democratic parties to be placed on the ballot, only assumptions that campaigns would correspond with state parties to obtain ballot access for primaries. [57]
Phillips said that the DNC's letter stating that New Hampshire's presidential primary was 'meaningless' and not to seat any delegates to the convention based on the results was, “one of the most egregious affronts to democracy that I’ve ever seen in my entire lifetime as an American, period.” [58]
The Florida Democratic Party's executive committee voted to cancel their primary at the end of October 2023 and declare Biden the winner ahead of a November 30 filing deadline, saying that they had not heard from Biden's challengers. Phillips criticized the cancelled primary as "intentional disenfranchisement" and a "blatant act of electoral corruption". Phillip's campaign showed CNN copies of two letters that it had sent on November 7 to the Florida Democratic Party while the Florida Democratic Party said that it had not heard from them until November 22, while acknowledging that "there’s no requirement for presidential candidates to do anything to get on the ballot". [59] [60] [61] Under Florida law, state parties are allowed to decide who to include on their primary ballots. An independent, third party lawsuit has been filed against the Florida Democratic Party in order to include candidates other than Biden. [62] In his statement to Politico, when Phillips called the handling of the primary process by the Florida Democrats a “blatant act of electoral corruption” he then demanded Biden “condemn and immediately address” it. He also said, “Americans would expect the absence of democracy in Tehran, not Tallahassee. The intentional disenfranchisement of voters runs counter to everything for which our Democratic Party and country stand. Our mission as Democrats is to defeat authoritarians, not become them.” [63]
The Tennessee Democratic Party decided to list only Biden as a ballot option for its primary after a November 11 meeting, where they affirmed that Biden's campaign was the only one that had reached out that could be properly vetted before their deadline. Phillips has challenged their decision by submitting over 3,000 signatures in a petition to the Tennessee Secretary of State on December 5, potentially overcoming the party decision. [56] [57]
The North Carolina Democratic Party acknowledged receiving requests for ballot access from Phillips and other candidates, but chose to only include Biden for its primary, stating that other candidates failed to meet standards for inclusion, such as media recognition and advocacy, having a donor base, and active campaigning in the state. [57]
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin left Phillips off the ballot; he appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on January 26, 2024. [64] The court unanimously ruled on February 2 that Phillips should be included on the ballot. [65]
On November 9, 2023, asserting that his campaign was hampered by ballot access policies and a lack of candidate debates, Phillips issued an apology to Bernie Sanders, regretting his previous disbelief towards Sanders's 2016 campaign's complaints of biased rules by the DNC governing the presidential primary. [66] When asked for comment, Sanders responded, "He's changed his views now that he's a candidate? I'm not getting involved in this." [67]
Phillips argued that the Democratic establishment was choking off his challenge because it couldn't accept that ‘Biden is going to get creamed’ by Trump in November. [68]
Phillips accused representatives of the Biden campaign of using access to pressure liberal media outlets into blackballing and not platforming him. [69] [70] The New York Times reported that during his campaign, Phillips found himself “deplatformed,” taken off the ballot in some states, and rarely invited on television to make his case. [71] Phillips also accused the Democratic National Committee of actively obstructing Democrats and Independents from ballot access — “bleeding campaigns dry” by handing out lawsuits against non-incumbent candidates and "absurd signature requirements." [72]
Criticism of Kamala Harris
In an interview with Mark Leibovich of The Atlantic on November 21, 2023, Phillips questioned the competency of vice president Kamala Harris should she succeed to the presidency. He says that while he has had "thoughtful" interactions with her, others have told him that "she is not well prepared, doesn't have the right disposition and the right competencies to execute that office." He also referenced Harris's approval ratings and poll numbers, which were lower than Biden's. [73] Phillips received pushback from Harris supporters, including his congressional colleagues Robert Garcia and Lisa Blunt Rochester; Garcia stated in a tweet that he should "keep the VP’s name out of his mouth and apologize." The next day, Phillips apologized to Harris on social media for referencing opinions of others in contrast with his personal experience. [74] On October 21, 2024, Phillips suggested that Harris was blowing her opportunity to keep the White House out of Donald Trump’s hands. He lamented that “A billion dollars will have been wasted on losing voters by condemnation versus winning them by invitation. She just needed to be clear about what she believes, what she will do differently than Biden, and offer common sense solutions to our problems." [75]
Suspension of campaign
On March 6, 2024, following losses on Super Tuesday, Phillips suspended his campaign and endorsed Joe Biden. [140] After the endorsement, President Biden called Phillips on the phone. Phillips said the two “had a wonderful conversation” that ended in an invitation to discuss the state of the 2024 race at the White House. [141] [142]
On April 16, 2024, Phillips blamed the national political parties, the media, and even “apathetic” voters for his failure to succeed as a modern-day Paul Revere, warning his party of the dangers of allowing an aging Biden to once again take on Trump. He also stated he was surprised by the strength of the nation’s two-party system, a “duopoly” that has “a decreasing focus on the country and an increasing focus on winning.” [143]
Following the first presidential debate on June 27, 2024, Phillips was asked to comment on Biden's performance. He responded: "Gandhi said to speak only when it improves upon the silence." [144]
Despite defeating Phillips, Biden would later withdraw from the election on July 21, 2024. [145] On the same day, but also shortly before, Biden ended his re-election campaign, Phillips urged Democrats to hold an "immediate" vote of confidence on Biden in a Wall Street Journal column and Face the Nation interview amid the growing concerns about his re-election chances. [146] [147] [148] Despite claiming that he still endorsed Biden, Phillips also stated in the Face the Nation interview that “it is time to step aside and turn this over to a new generation.” [147] With Biden out, Phillips proposed a straw poll of delegates ahead of the Democratic National Convention to determine the party’s top four presidential contenders. Those four candidates would then take part in four town halls outlining their plans for the White House. Then, after all those town halls, the delegates would vote to choose their candidate to determine the nominee. [149] [150] [151]
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Phillips said, “If people write anything, I just hope that they might write if [Biden] had debated me then and he had been on one stage, unscripted, with a national audience, and he demonstrated that decline then, this would have been very different circumstances.” He continued, “And that’s what I was trying to do.” [152] Phillips explained his reasoning for running against Biden in an interview with Nexstar Media Group on August 20 at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, stating that he noted as far back as July of 2022 that Biden should "pass the torch"; with Biden's withdrawal in July of 2024, some of his colleagues understood why he ran. [153] Phillips was a superdelegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention and told Politico on the convention floor “I was trying to be a Paul Revere, not a George Washington.” [154] [155]
After the presidential election, Phillips was asked by a journalist Shannon Bream if he felt overlooked by his party this year over the course of the campaign and election, to which he responded, “My voice, yes, was ignored, but tens of millions of Americans’ voices were ignored and suppressed and disenfranchised.” [156]
In an interview with the Nation after the election, Phillips said, “My run wasn’t about me. It was about having a legitimate, invitational, competitive, spirited primary. That means debate. And had there been other candidates on a primary stage, I’m almost certain that Americans, at least Democratic primary voters, would have selected someone in a better position to ultimately beat the most dangerous Republican candidate of our lifetime.” [157]
The HuffPost reported that after the election, Phillips said of his White House bid, “I would do it a thousand times again.” And he continued, “My only regret — and it’s a big one — is that so many of my colleagues who felt exactly the same way couldn’t find the courage to say and do something about it.” [158]
U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, who was the first sitting Democrat in Congress to openly call for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 United States presidential election after the first presidential debate, stated after Trump's win, “I only regret I didn’t do it earlier ... I believe that the only person in our caucus who doesn’t share some responsibility for the outcome is Dean Phillips, who came out early.” [159]
On December 26, 2024, Mother Jones dubbed Phillips a "Hero of 2024" because he was the only elected official to challenge Biden in the Democratic Primary who tried to say Joe Biden was too old before it was too late when everyone else around the President said he was capable of winning a second term, despite his bad poll numbers and obvious oldness. [160]
On December 28, 2024, Politico asserted that Phillips was right about Biden's re-election campaign, and that his decision to launch a primary challenge proved prescient after Biden’s disastrous debate with Trump. [161] On the same day, The Guardian also reported that Phillips is “saddened” to be vindicated by the accuracy of his prediction at the time that the outgoing president could not win re-election. [162]
On December 30, 2024, The New York Times dubbed Phillips the "Most Prophetic" in their 2024 High School Yearbook of American Politics for his challenge to Biden for the Democratic nomination. [163]
On January 5, 2025, an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal claimed that we should all "give Dean Phillips his due for questioning President Biden’s fitness for office as early as July 2022." [164]
On January 7, 2025, an opinion piece for the New York Times argued that someone ought to nominate Phillips for a Profile in Courage Award because when challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination for president, it was left to him to "play the part of the boy who says the emperor has no clothes." [165]
On January 22, 2025, Democratic political strategist Jessica Tarlov, during a podcast with New York University professor Scott Galloway, mentions that "there are all these Democrats who now feel emboldened to talk about how they knew Biden shouldn't have been the nominee... and the time for that was in the public square frankly when Dean Phillips was screaming from the rooftops if I have to be the guy I'll be the guy." [166]
On February 9, 2025, former U.S. Representative Tim Roemer wrote on Salon.com an open letter to the Democratic Party where he stated, "We had an opportunity during the primary campaign (when we ignored Rep. Dean Phillips' warnings) to voice our concerns about Biden’s age or to remind him that we voted for him in 2020 to defeat Donald Trump and serve one term." [167]
On February 14, 2025, former U.S. Representative John Delaney tweeted that, "Democrats certainly would have been better served listening to Dean Phillips because it turns out that he was 100% correct in his assessment of the 2024 election so perhaps the better plan might be to not ignore what he has to say but listen and learn?" [168]
