Rep. Phillips places third in South Carolina Democratic presidential primary

Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips came in third in South Carolina's Democratic presidential primary Saturday.

Phillips, the third-term Democrat who represents many western Twin Cities suburbs in Congress, got 1.7% of votes to Biden's 96.2% and Marianne Williamson's 2.1%, with nearly all results in on Sunday morning. Phillips had 2,239 votes.

"Cracking four digits never felt so good! Congratulations, Mr. President, on a good old fashioned whooping," Phillips wrote in a post on X. "See you in Michigan."

The contest was the first opportunity for Democratic presidential candidates to win delegates, and Biden picked up all 55 for the state. The Republican South Carolina primary will be held Feb. 24.

New Hampshire's Democratic primary, held Jan. 23, didn't award delegates because the state defied the Democratic National Committee by holding its primary election before South Carolina's. Biden's name was not on the ballot there, but a successful campaign to write in the president's name earned him 64% of the vote to Phillips' 20%.

The next Democratic primary is Tuesday in Nevada, where Phillips will not appear on the ballot. He faces Biden in Michigan on Feb. 27, the last primary for Democrats before Super Tuesday March 5, when more than a dozen states, including Minnesota, hold contests.

Phillips was a longshot in South Carolina, the state that revived Biden's White House bid in 2020. Phillips spent the Tuesday before the primary at a fireside chat in San Francisco.

Reached by phone Sunday afternoon, Phillips suggested South Carolina shook out roughly as expected, pointing to his post last week predicting a 95% win for Biden.

"I loved every minute of it," he said of campaigning there, but said he is dedicating more resources elsewhere because few states are as supportive of Biden as South Carolina.

Phillips said he'll be in Michigan, where he'll spend most of the month, soon with his "government repair truck."

Phillips' primary challenge to a sitting president has faced criticism, including from his Minnesota colleagues in Washington.

Last week, Sen. Tina Smith roasted Phillips over low attendance at his rallies. That's something Phillips himself has joked about: When attendance at one South Carolina campaign event numbered 12 seated in a circle, including a fourth-grader and a dog, Phillips quipped that it "felt like a séance," the Post and Courier reported.

Despite the criticism, Phillips' persistence in the race without any primary wins — or even coming close — isn't unprecedented, said Eric Ostermeier, a research fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the author of Smart Politics.

Ostermeier cited Pat Buchanan, the underdog Republican who challenged sitting president George H.W. Bush for the Republican nomination in 1992.

Buchanan — who challenged Bush from the right — hoped to parlay a strong showing in New Hampshire into success in later primaries, but it "never quite panned out," Ostermeier said. While Buchanan took in enough cash to keep his campaign afloat, he never came as close to Bush.

In another post on X Saturday night, Phillips seemed to joke about his placement — and put some of the blame on low voter turnout.

"Pleased by my top three finish in tonight's Democratic primary in South Carolina ;) Guess what % of registered voters participated?" he wrote. According to media reports, roughly 4% of registered South Carolina voters cast a ballot.

Asked for his response to critics who question his endgame, Phillips criticized a political system that he said faces a crisis of participation, leaving many voters feeling like they have no good options in November.

"The end game is, of course, to become president the United States and defeat Donald Trump. That is the entire end game and I will use every tactic and be resolute on that path," he said. "In the meantime, we have a democratic republic that should be promoting competition and campaigns and speech and voter participation. And that is my mission: to say the quiet part out loud, tell people the truth about how this really works and try my best to inspire more participation."