Joe Biden has a new opponent in the Democratic Party primaries. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) has announced that he is entering the presidential race and will make his election campaign official this Friday in New Hampshire.
In an exclusive interview for the CBS News program "CBS Mornings," Phillips assured that one of the main reasons that led him to run is the polling data. The vast majority of polls project a victory for Trump over Biden in the 2024 elections.
"I am. I have to. ... I will not sit still and not be quiet in the face of numbers that are so clearly saying that we're going to be facing an emergency next November," he responded to journalist Robert Costa.
BREAKING: Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) is running for president, challenging Pres. Biden in the Democratic primary race.
He tells @costareports and @CBSMornings he won't "be quiet" as polling numbers "are so clearly saying that we’re going to be facing an emergency next November.” pic.twitter.com/7tP0QJaKgJ
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 27, 2023
In the interview, Phillips assured that "President Biden has done a spectacular job for our country," but he believes it is time for the president to abandon his aspirations for a second term. "It's not about the past. This is an election about the future," he said amid fears that the Democratic Party will lose the next presidential election.
Who is Dean Phillips?
"Eternal optimist, radical pragmatist, common sense enthusiast, and bipartisan believer." This is how Dean Phillips defines himself on his X (formerly Twitter) profile. He was born on Jan. 20, 1969 in Saint Paul, the capital of Minnesota. He grew up in Edina, Minn., a town less than 10 miles from Minneapolis. His father died in the Vietnam War. He is married and has two daughters.
He has had a brief political career thus far. He won his seat in the House of Representatives in 2018 and took office in early 2019. Previously, he had not held any political office at the local, state or federal level.
Currently, he is a member of the House of Representatives Small Business Committee and the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia Foreign Affairs Subcommittee.
