Federal judge denies efforts to force Dean Phillips onto Florida primary ballot

A federal judge has rejected an attempt by Florida Democrats to force a presidential primary in March, allowing candidates such as Rep. Dean Phillips (R-Minn.) to appear on the state's ballot.

Former Congressional candidate and Tampa Bay attorney Michael Steinberg said: filed a federal lawsuit Even though President Biden is the incumbent, challengers including Phillips, authors Marianne Williamson, Cenk Uyghur and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should be on the ballot. argued and opposed the state party.

U.S. District Judge Allen Windsor disagreed and dismissed the claim. In his refusal, Windsor said the argument essentially didn't hold up.

Steinberg is likely to appeal the decision. He argued earlier this week that the state's attempts to keep leading candidates out of the debate were undemocratic and could take the case to the Supreme Court.

“This is an issue that could repeat itself in 2028, and we could see this issue come up again,” Steinberg said. According to Politico. “This is more of a matter of principle: Democrats are supposed to be democratic.”

Florida isn't the only state where Biden's challengers are hitting a wall. Candidates have vowed to fight to earn a spot on the ballot.

This latest skirmish comes as a result of the Minnesota lawmaker's campaign saying, “The Florida Democratic Party will not issue ballots for party primaries where the state has only one candidate, so all Florida Democrats will vote for the candidate of their choice.'' This happened after he claimed that he had taken away his right to vote.

The campaign said it would consider legal action, including potentially challenging all of Florida's delegates to the national convention later this year.

“The intentional disenfranchisement of voters goes against everything the Democratic Party and our country stand for,” Phillips said earlier this month. “Our mission as Democrats is not to be authoritarians, but to defeat authoritarians.”

“That's why I call on President Biden and Americans of all political affiliations to condemn this blatant act of election corruption and take immediate action.”

Phillips launched his bid for the White House in October after repeatedly pushing for a competitive primary against Biden. The Minnesota Democratic Party currently trails Mr. Williamson with single-digit approval ratings nationally.