Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN)(R) holds a rally outside of the N.H. Statehouse after handing over his declaration of candidacy form for President to the New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan, on October 27, 2023 in Concord, New Hampshire. (Gaelen Morse/Getty Images)
"The country's being very clear right now. They do not want Joe Biden to be the president. And they don't want Donald Trump to be the president," Phillips emphasized on the campaign trail late last year. "Whichever party breaks that logjam will win the White House, the Senate and the House."
And Phillips told Fox News Digital at the time that his mission was "to demonstrate that Americans are sick and tired of the nonsense. That we have a crisis that cannot be addressed by either Donald Trump or frankly, President Biden, and it’s time for change."
Phillips reiterated that he was running on behalf of "the exhausted majority" as he spotlighted issues such as the national debt, military spending and high taxes.
And he heavily criticized the president and the Democratic National Committee for not allowing primary debates between Biden and his challengers.
Phillips focused most of his time and resources during the first three months of his campaign on New Hampshire, where the president's name wasn't on the ballot in the state's Jan. 23 unsanctioned Democratic primary.
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minnesota, speaks at the South Carolina Democratic Party's First-in-the-Nation Dinner, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. Phillips is challenging President Joe Biden, the dinner's keynote speaker, for this year's Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard) (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Two weeks later, Phillips was forced to lay off a sizable portion of his campaign staff, due to lackluster fundraising. But a Phillips spokesperson dismissed talk that the congressman would end his White House bid, saying Phillips planned to remain in the race until the Democratic National Convention in August.
The results in Michigan's Feb. 27 primary were also disappointing, as Biden captured 81% of the vote, with Phillips at just under 3%, slightly behind Williamson. Thirteen percent of those casting ballots voted uncommitted, in a move to protest the Biden Administration's support of Israel in its war with Hamas.
Phillips was also in the campaign spotlight due to a couple of controversies.
He faced criticism for scrubbing "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" language from his campaign website after he was publicly urged to do so by one of his donors.
And Phillips briefly flirted with a third party run on a potential ticket by the centrist No Labels group before quickly backtracking.
As he dropped out of the race, Phillips thanked his supporters.
"To all who supported my effort, thank you. We will continue the important work to ensure a more responsive, democratic, and generationally diverse political system," he wrote in his social media post.
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