A Democrat congressman in Minnesota says he is open to challenging President Biden for his party’s presidential nomination.
‘I am thinking about it,’ Rep. Dean Phillips told ‘The Warning’ podcast on Friday in an episode that was released on Monday. ‘I haven’t ruled it out.’
‘I think there are people who are more proximate, better prepared to campaign with national organizations, national name recognition, which I do not possess,’ Phillips added. ‘I’m concerned that there is no alternative.’
Phillips said it is ‘important for democracy to have choices, to have competition, particularly in light of what I’m reading — the polling, the data — and what I’m sensing in my own intuition, and I’m concerned.’
In August, Phillips urged his Democrat colleagues to jump into the race and told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that he ‘adores’ Biden but wants him to ‘pass the torch’ to new leaders.
‘I would like to see a moderate governor, hopefully from the heartland, from one of the four states that Democrats will need,’ he said.
He continued, ‘Anybody who wants to run, Joe Manchin, Cornel West … that’s why we have primaries because that doesn’t undermine the likelihood of returning, in this case, a Democrat to the White House. I’m actively inviting, encouraging to some degree, imploring that people who are ready and know it’s probably time to do so take the chance.’
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Biden, who will turn 81 in November, has increasingly faced questions from both sides of the aisle about his age leading up to the 2024 presidential cycle.
Phillips said on the podcast that he is ‘concerned that something could happen between now and next November that would make the Democratic Convention in Chicago an unmitigated disaster.’
‘And for a party that is acting as the adults in the room, thank goodness, I’m concerned that we are not as it relates to our electoral strategy,’ Phillips added. ‘So, I’m considering it.’
‘I do still think there’s some time for somebody to enter. I’m still encouraging others who I think are better prepared right now to run a great campaign,’ he said.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
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Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
