Dean Phillips ends long-shot Democratic primary challenge to Biden

CNN —

Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips announced Wednesday that he was dropping out of the 2024 Democratic presidential primary and throwing his support behind President Joe Biden.

“I ran for Congress in 2018 to resist Donald Trump, I was trapped in the Capitol in 2021 because of Donald Trump, and I ran for President in 2024 to resist Donald Trump again - because Americans were demanding an alternative, and democracy demands options,” the congressman said on social media.

“But it is clear that alternative is not me. And it is clear that Joe Biden is OUR candidate and OUR opportunity to demonstrate what type of country America is and intends to be,” he added.

Phillips’ announcement comes as Biden has dominated the contests on the Democratic primary calendar this year, from the South Carolina primary on February 3 through Super Tuesday, as he marches toward the party nomination.

Even in the New Hampshire primary in January – a contest that did not comply with Democratic National Committee rules – Phillips, who focused heavily on the state and launched his campaign there, was unable to secure a win. Biden won through an unofficial write-in campaign launched by his Granite State supporters.

Phillips’ exit leaves author Marianne Williamson as the last remaining notable primary challenger to Biden. Williamson dropped out of the race on February 7 but then unsuspended her campaign weeks later after finishing ahead of Phillips in the Michigan primary.

Dean Phillips holds hands with a supporter outside the statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire, on October 27, 2023.

Related article Inside Dean Phillips’ chaotic and increasingly negative campaign against Joe Biden

In February, Phillips said his campaign had to lay off