Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., after securing 20% of the vote in New Hampshire's unsanctioned Democratic Party primary on Tuesday, insisted that he will continue his campaign for the nomination.
Phillips, who spent a great deal of time and personal finances in his bid to mount a challenge to President Joe Biden, pointed out at his Election Night gathering in Manchester, New Hampshire, that "no one knew who we were 10 weeks ago," reports MPR.
Biden, who was not on the ballot, won the primary through a write-in vote, but Phillips, a three-term member of Congress, said that the United States deserves options and said he hopes that a strong showing against Biden would show that Democrats want someone other than Biden on their ticket.
He also congratulated former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for her strong finish in her race against former President Donald Trump, who defeated her in a double-digit result.
"This country deserves options," Phillips said "This country should not have coronations, and I know the exhausted majority of this country — center-right and center-left Americans — I know they'd much rather see a Nikki Haley-Dean Phillips matchup this November, and we're going to try to get that done."
As the Democrats' primary was unrecognized, the national party will not be recognizing its results or rewarding convention delegates from it. Biden did not campaign in the election, which continued under state law.
"New Hampshire voters hate being told what to do by Washington," state Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley explained.
Still, Phillips' strong showing would compel national political reporters to pay attention to his campaign and introduce him to the rest of the United States, particularly early primary states, noted MPR.
While touring New Hampshire, Phillips, 55, said it is time for a younger generation of political leaders to take office and told voters that Biden is on a path to losing the presidency to Trump.
"There's something really good about not being that well known because two-thirds of the country does not yet hate me," he said in a New Hampshire appearance this week. "But that's the problem. We have an anger-tainment industry in our country right now that would have us believe that we are so much more divided than we really are."
The congressman is on the ballot in South Carolina, Michigan, and several Super Tuesday states, including his home state of Minnesota.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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