Dean Phillips filing challenges in states that left him off ballots

Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips is planning to file challenges in states that left him and other Democrats running against President Biden off the ballot.

Phillips, a representative for Minnesota, will file the challenges with the Democratic National Committee and several states including Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee after he was excluded from the ballot, Semafor first reported.

“Unilaterally taking away the right of rank and file Democrats, including a disproportionate number of Black voters demanding a more affordable America, is reprehensible,” Phillips said in a statement to Semafor. “If Joe Biden is the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump and lead us to a safer, more affordable future, let him compete for that privilege without his supporters suppressing and disenfranchising millions of voters.”

The Hill has reached out to Phillips for comment on his plans.

Phillips announced In October that he would be running against Biden, after repeatedly calling for a competitive primary. The Minnesota Democrat is polling in the single digits nationally, and he trails author Marianne Williamson, another candidate.

Williamson and media figure Cenk Uygur, who is also running in the primary, blasted the Florida Democratic Party in a joint press conference on Zoom after they were left of the state’s primary presidential ballot.

Phillips previously clashed with the Florida’s Democratic Party for only offering primary voters one choice on the ballot, and he threatened possible legal action.

A spokesperson for the Florida Democratic Party called Phillips’s comments “conspiratorial and inappropriate.”

The Hill has reached out to both the Democratic National Committee and the Florida Democratic Party for comment.