Rep. Dean Phillips won’t run for reelection amid presidential bid

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) announced Friday that he will not seek reelection in 2024 as he continues a long-shot primary challenge to President Biden.

“It’s been the most joyful experience of my life representing the most civically engaged community in the nation in Congress,” Phillips said on X, formerly Twitter. “But it’s time to pass the torch, it’s time for change, and our best days are yet to come!”

Phillips, 54, was first elected to represent Minnesota’s 3rd District in 2018.

In a statement, Phillips described his time in Congress as an “honor of a lifetime.”

“To my amazing community, the most engaged in the entire nation, you have made this the most joyful job I’ve ever had,” he said. “I always say that representation begins with listening, and your diverse and respectful voices represent the very best of America.”

“I know my successor will serve you with invitation, integrity, and fortitude – because you will demand it – and all Americans deserve it,” he continued.

His office highlighted Phillips’s bipartisan voting record, leadership in the House Problem Solvers Caucus and his work helping construct the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID pandemic.

His suburban Minneapolis district is not considered competitive for Republicans in 2024, according to the Cook Political Report.

Phillips launched his presidential campaign late last month, joining Marianne Williamson in the Democratic field against Biden.

Despite widespread criticism from Democrats, who view the attempt as potentially hurting Biden’s general election chances, Phillips has painted himself as a younger alternative to the 81-year-old commander in chief.

“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,” Phillips said at his campaign announcement.

“I think President Biden has done a spectacular job for our country. But it’s not about the past,” he said. “This is an election about the future.”

Biden’s campaign has mostly ignored Phillips’s primary attempt, and he has garnered little support in early primary polls so far.