On Friday, Representative Dean Phillips announced his intention to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024, competing directly with the incumbent President Joe Biden.

This move has pushed the three-term congressman to the outskirts of the party, challenging the well-funded and establishment-backed Biden.

Phillips, a 54-year-old Minnesota congressman, has been advocating for another primary challenger to President Biden for months. Concerns about Biden's age and approval ratings have been a significant motivating factor in his decision to challenge the incumbent.

Speaking about his run, Phillips emphasized the need for a forward-looking vision. He stated, "I think President Biden has done a spectacular job for our country. But it's not about the past. This is an election about the future. I will not sit still; I will not be quiet in the face of numbers that are so clearly saying that we're going to be facing an emergency next November."

To kickstart his campaign, Phillips is expected to file for the New Hampshire primary and officially announce his candidacy at the Statehouse plaza in Concord. Following the announcement, he plans to embark on a bus tour.

The possibility of Phillips' presidential run has been speculated since July, with calls for high-profile Democrats to challenge Biden. Phillips, a millionaire businessman, had publicly expressed his hesitance to support Biden in 2024 due to concerns over Biden's age and polling data that indicated a desire for an alternative candidate among Democrats.

The decision to launch his bid in New Hampshire, a state that has resisted the Democratic National Committee's early nominating calendar, solidifies Phillips' status as a party outsider. His campaign has faced criticism from fellow Democrats, with some dismissing it as a "vanity project."

By filing for the presidency in New Hampshire, Phillips is not set to receive any delegates from the state for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2024. Furthermore, he has already missed the candidacy filing deadline for Nevada, making him ineligible for the first-in-the-West early nominating state.

Democratic National Committee member Artie Blanco criticized Phillips' approach, stating that his campaign did not seem serious about running for president and questioned his commitment to building a diverse coalition.

Phillips, a Minnesota native, holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Business and is known for his role in developing the Talenti Gelato chain. He is also the founder of Twin Cities-based coffee shop 'Penny's Coffee.' Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.