Dean Phillips Finally Drops Longshot Bid to Oust Joe Biden
(Photo by Michael Nigro)(Sipa via AP Images)
ABC News reported the inevitable on Wednesday: Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) has suspended his presidential campaign.
After a dire showing in the Super Tuesday primary elections, Phillips admitted in a super sad social media post that in his attempt to provide a Democratic alternative to President Joe Biden, he was less appealing than the sitting president as well as fellow candidate and self-help author Marianne Williamson and a nebulous, unnamed vote for “uncommitted.” Biden roundly defeated Phillips in the latter’s home state of Minnesota on Tuesday — and so did “uncommitted.”
Phillips’ run for president was always considered a longshot, considering he was running against a sitting president, but the candidate insisted he was addressing concerns about Biden’s age. Besides the bad showings in primaries (especially in Michigan, where Phillips came in fourth behind Biden, “uncommitted,” and Williamson), the campaign suffered from embarrassing setbacks including the street magician connected to a Phillips staffer who put out an AI-generated robocall.
Phillips tweeted his announcement on Wednesday as well and praised Biden’s “empathy and kindness.”
Phillips also, perhaps desperately, pushed the idea of a unity ticket with now-former GOP candidate Nikki Haley. So maybe hope springs eternal for Dean Phillips?
