Phillips starts long-shot presidential run

Twin Cities and served as chair of Talenti Gelato for four years before he was elected to Congress.

In the House, Phillips sits on the Ethics and Foreign Affairs committees. He supports aid to Israel and Ukraine, and lauded Biden’s leadership on those issues.

Challenging an incumbent

Historically, modern presidents who fend off primary challengers tend to perform poorly in general elections.

With the exception of former President Richard Nixon, every sitting president since 1969 who has faced a primary opponent has lost the White House, including former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.

Democrats supporting Biden’s presidential bid worry that Phillips’ campaign will drive a wedge in the party and make it easier for the GOP nominee to defeat the incumbent president.

Biden and former President Donald Trump each had 37% support in a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll released this week. Kennedy pulled in 13% support, mostly from voters said they would otherwise support the GOP. Progressive activist Cornel West, who is also running as an independent campaign, drew 4% support, mainly away from Biden.

Phillips has already missed the filing deadline in Nevada, and he will not be eligible to receive delegates in New Hampshire, which is in a fight with the Democratic Party over the timing of its primary.

The national party voted earlier this year to shake up its primary calendar and strip New Hampshire of its storied first-in-the-nation primary status. Biden’s campaign announced Tuesday that the president would not file to be a candidate there.

New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan has insisted the state will go first, regardless. Assuming it does, the DNC emphasized it will not allot delegates to any candidate who appears on the ballot.

The candidate with the most delegates at the end of the process will win the party’s nomination.