A largely unknown Democrat surprised many on Tuesday when he won the Democratic caucuses in American Samoa over President Biden.
Jason Palmer, who describes himself on his campaign website as an “impact investor” and entrepreneur, won American Samoa’s Democratic contest against his party’s standard-bearer.
While Biden has faced some minor primary challengers, including Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), this is the only contest he has lost in the Democratic primary.
Though the results of the American Samoa contest will hardly make a dent in Biden’s lead in the Democratic primary —it only awards six delegates on the Democratic side — Palmer’s win in the U.S. territory was an unexpected curveball.
Palmer, who resides in Baltimore and is a Quaker, has worked for groups and an investment firm, along with organizations including Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, New Markets Venture Partners and Kaplan Education, according to his campaign website.
His campaign website says he has “experience in small business and multi-partisan fluency to his political endeavors.”
A 52-year-old, he has branded himself as “Biden’s Youngest Dem Opponent.” Palmer is three years younger than Phillips.
In a letter published on his website, he also described himself as the “purple candidate,” noting that while he identifies as a Democrat, “my positions also sound Republican.”
In a FAQ section of Palmer’s website, he acknowledged his odds of winning the Democratic primary against Biden were slim but said his campaign was geared toward offering solutions and ideas more than clinching the primary.
“Americans are being bombarded with a perfect storm of multiple foreign wars, high inflation, racial and ethnic tensions, climate change, increasing crime, the last vestiges of a global pandemic, and [artificial intelligence] that could eliminate half of all jobs by 2030,” Palmer wrote on his FAQ section on why he was running.
“Traditional candidates for public office are stoking the flames, offering 20th-century solutions to 21st-century problems,” he continued. “My campaign aims to pull America out of these conflicts by offering a very different, positive, optimistic vision of re-inventing the American Dream for the 21st century.”
Palmer noted that he was not running as an independent because he did not want to be a spoiler in November. However, in his FAQ section, he also pushed back against the idea that his campaign could be negatively impacting Biden.
“Biden’s chances of a second term are hurting, but not because of my campaign. According to the Reuters poll this month, 56% of Americans polled disapprove of his leadership. Numerous other polls, including one at Quinnipiac University, reveal that more than 7 in 10 independents want other candidates to enter the 2024 presidential race,” he wrote in the FAQ section.
“I do not believe we have to concede the White House to a Republican Administration without having a robust debate that includes a positive, optimistic vision forward — we can and must do better for America,” he added.