MINNEAPOLIS — Rep. Dean Phillips announced Wednesday that he's suspending his campaign for president.
In a social media post, Phillips wrote about meeting Joe Biden in 2011, saying the president's "decency and wisdom were rarities in politics then, and even more so today."
In his post, Phillips also said, "It is clear that alternative is not me. And it is clear that Joe Biden is OUR candidate and OUR opportunity to demonstrate what type of country America is and intends to be."
Phillips, a 55-year-old multimillionaire who is among the richest members of Congress, built his White House bid around calls for a new generation of Democratic leadership while spending freely from his personal fortune. But the little-known congressman ultimately failed to resonate with the party's voters.
Phillips was the only elected Democrat to challenge Biden for the presidency. Phillips' failure to gain traction is further proof that Democratic voters are behind the 81-year-old Biden even if many have misgivings about his age or his reelection prospects.
The president has long cast himself as uniquely qualified to beat Republican Donald Trump again after his 2020 win, and his reelection campaign largely ignored Phillips except to point out that the congressman voted with the administration nearly 100% of the time in Congress.
Phillips often argued Biden was too old to serve a second term.
The Minnesota lawmaker's endorsement of Biden appears to foreclose running as a third-party challenger on a potential No Labels ticket.
On Feb. 19, Phillips announced that he was laying off "a lot of staff members" after struggling to raise money for a presidential bid. At that time, the congressman had taken disappointing primary losses, garnering 19.6% in New Hampshire and 1.7% in South Carolina.
But Phillips wasn't ready to give up at that point, telling his followers on social media, "I'm going to continue this journey as long as you want this journey continued."
Phillips has already announced he’s not seeking reelection in his suburban Minneapolis congressional district. He is heir to his stepfather’s Phillips Distilling Co. empire and served as that company’s president, but he also ran the gelato maker Talenti. His grandmother was Pauline Phillips, better known as the advice columnist Dear Abby.
Driving a gelato truck helped Phillips win his first House campaign in 2018, when he unseated five-term Republican Erik Paulsen. While Phillips' district in mostly affluent greater Minneapolis has become more Democratic-leaning, he stressed that he is a moderate focused on his suburban constituents.
While running for president, however, Phillips moved further to the left, endorsing fully government-funded health care through “Medicare for All."
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