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Election 2024
Mark Zdechlik

Rep. Phillips backs Harris for president but wants other contenders heard

A man speaks to a crowd
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips speaks to supporters during a campaign rally on Jan. 22 in Manchester, N.H. Phillips was challenging incumbent President Joe Biden at the time. He said Monday that he's backing Vice President Kamala Harris now that Biden has ended his campaign.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

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U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, who previously challenged President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Monday he’s backing Vice President Kamala Harris for president but that Democrats should still hear from other potential candidates.

Phillips suggested a straw poll of delegates ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago to determine the party’s top four presidential contenders. Those four candidates would then take part in four forums outlining their plans for the White House.

“Competitions create better outcomes,” Phillips told MPR News. “They create better candidates, create better policies. Coronations are antithetical to democracy.”

Phillips said he thinks the process would strengthen Harris as a candidate.

“I think a series of town halls, where she is on her own in front of the American public or with other candidates as I propose, affords her the opportunity to set aside the vice presidency and really introduce herself as a candidate for the presidency of the United States of America,” he said of Harris.

Phillips added that he’s not restarting his candidacy and feels he “fulfilled my duty” in making longstanding calls for a change on the Democratic ticket.

Phillips shared the names of several vice presidential candidates he’d like to see considered for the Democratic ticket, including Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Roy Cooper of North Carolina, along with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

“These would be very complementary candidates,” he said. “I think it would allow the vice president to focus on recapturing the Democratic base, and perhaps the vice presidential candidates — like the aforementioned — to start inviting back independents, Never Trump Republicans, and frankly, rural Americans who have been increasingly ignored by Democratic campaigns in recent years. So I think a ticket like that would be outstanding.”

Phillips said that if Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were selected as a vice presidential candidate — as some have suggested — he would be “thrilled to support that ticket no matter what.”

Phillips called on Biden in 2022 to not seek reelection. Last fall, as he continued to raise concerns about Biden’s ability to win a rematch with former President Donald Trump, Phillips filed to run for president. He ended his campaign in March.

Speaking now about Biden’s decision, Phillips said “it’s quite unusual and remarkable when a person of extraordinary power proactively gives it up.”

Phillips said he wishes Biden would have reached that decision sooner, but said it gives Democrats a chance “to reset this race, energize, mobilize, and I think succeed in November.”