Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips lost his third straight Democratic primary election to President Joe Biden on Tuesday night in Michigan.
Dean Phillips loses to President Biden and trails ‘uncommitted’ in Michigan primary election
The Minnesota presidential candidate received less than 3% of the Democratic primary vote with nearly all votes counted.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 28, 2024 at 2:39PM
The third-term congressman garnered under 3% of the vote to Biden’s 81%, with nearly all votes counted as of Wednesday morning. The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed. Far more Michiganders voted “uncommitted” than for Phillips. Activists angry with Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza mounted a vigorous campaign before Tuesday’s election urging voters to choose uncommitted.
Phillips’ loss in Michigan follows defeats in South Carolina and New Hampshire. The Minnesota Democrat had his best showing in New Hampshire’s presidential primary, garnering about 20% of the vote. Biden wasn’t on the ballot in New Hampshire but still won the state with 64% of voters writing his name in.
In South Carolina, Phillips finished a distant third to Biden and received less than 2% of the vote.
Phillips had once considered Michigan a state where he could have a strong showing. But he ended up spending little time campaigning there as he struggled to raise money. He announced a couple of weeks ago that he had to lay off a lot of his campaign staff.
Phillips appeared to set low expectations Tuesday morning for how he’d perform in Michigan.
“Joe Biden should receive 90% of the vote today in Michigan, no surprise when a Party pro-actively prevents competition and the majority of primary voters are the party faithful. Nonetheless, to all who take the time to vote in primaries and no matter for whom you vote: THANK YOU!” Phillips posted on X, formerly Twitter.
As results came in Tuesday evening, Phillips posted that “If you resent me for the audacity to challenge Joe Biden, at least you’ll appreciate how relatively strong I’m making him look among primary voters!”
The next Democratic contests are on March 5, when Minnesota and a dozen other states hold their presidential primary elections on Super Tuesday.
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