Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota backed away from his original plan to halt his campaign by March 5 if he did not receive support, and said Tuesday he would continue his campaign “for as long as necessary.” A conversation with former President Trump, who said he intended to stay in the fight.
“We recognize the critical need to continue this challenge,” Phillips said. He spoke on CNN's “This Morning.”
Phillips announced in October that he would challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination. Published online in November If his campaign becomes “unviable after March 5th, I will end my campaign and support Mr. Biden, the likely candidate,” he said.
The Minnesota Democrat also said he would not run for re-election to the House of Representatives. He is campaigning hard in New Hampshire for the nation's first primary on Tuesday, where Biden's name will not appear on the ballot.
In a recent interview with NewsNation's Chris Cuomo, Phillips said if he could get 20 percent in the Granite State, it would be “literally unexpected and very extraordinary.”
“Chris, people are hungry for change. 70% of the people don't want either of these candidates,” Phillips said of Biden and Trump.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has reshuffled its longtime party lineup for 2024, moving up South Carolina's primary and starting the voting process. New Hampshire held its primary as scheduled, citing state law. Biden stuck to the DNC's plan and did not campaign in the state.
Phillips on Tuesday slammed a grassroots effort to encourage New Hampshire voters to write Biden's name.
“People know he's the president. They know it's a primary and they're working hard to get write-in campaigns. I'm telling you, he's the president. It’s going to be a very weak candidate,” Phillips said. “Now we know what's going on, not just the polls that everyone knows about, but the voters are going to demonstrate the same thing.”
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