Wisconsin Supreme Court may hear Dean Phillips bid to be on Democratic presidential primary ballot

MADISON – The Wisconsin Supreme Court will consider taking up a challenge from Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips as he seeks to be included on the state's April 2 primary ballot.

The court issued an order on Monday directing the Wisconsin Elections Commission and the Wisconsin Presidential Preference Selection Committee to respond to Phillips' complaint by 4 p.m. Wednesday.

"As we fight (Republican former President Donald) Trump's attacks on democracy we must also be vigilant against efforts by people in our own party to do the same," Phillips said in a statement. "Voters should choose the nominee of our party without insiders trying to rig the process for Joe Biden."

Phillips, a congressman from Minnesota, has challenged similar decisions in Florida and North Carolina.

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Spokesmen for the Wisconsin Elections Commission and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin both declined to comment. But WEC chairman Don Millis, a Republican appointee, indicated Phillips' challenge could be successful.

“While the Wisconsin Elections Commission has no role in selecting candidates for the presidential preference ballot, even the most casual observer has to admit that Rep. Phillips is generally advocated and recognized in the national news media throughout the nation as a candidate for president for the Democratic Party. Therefore, he meets the statutory criteria," Millis said.

The elections commission does not place candidates on the ballot in Wisconsin. That decision is up to the bipartisan state Presidential Preference Selection Committee, which is made up of state Democratic and Republican party chairs, majority and minority leaders in the state Legislature, and others. The committee met in the state Capitol earlier this month to determine which presidential candidates will appear on the state's primary ballot.

The six candidates named by the state Republican party include: Trump, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Every candidate on that list but Trump and Haley has since suspended their campaign.

The state Democratic party presented only one name for the ballot: President Joe Biden. Phillips and author Marianne Williamson are also running as Democrats.

The committee is required by state law to include all names "whose candidacy is generally advocated or recognized in the national news media throughout the United States," and is allowed to include additional names.

Attorneys for Phillips argued in their complaint that the congressman is a nationally recognized candidate, noting that he received nearly 20% of the vote in New Hampshire's Democratic primary. Biden did not appear on the ballot, but with write-ins received about 64% of the vote.

"Wisconsin voters subsidize the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s primary election, and they deserve a true primary, in which they are free to vote for the same nationally recognized candidates who are appearing on other states’ ballots. (Phillips) should not have to waste resources to circulate petitions and gather signatures, when the Wisconsin legislature has determined that he and other 'generally advocated or recognized' candidates should be spared that expense," the candidate's attorneys wrote.

Candidates left off the ballot may obtain access by collecting signatures in support of their petittion. According to an affidavit from Phillips campaign adviser Jeff Weaver, the campaign looked into the process and determined it would cost about $300,000 to gather enough signatures to land on the ballot.

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Phillips is asking the court to take the case on an emergency basis and issue a ruling by Feb. 9. In the meantime, the candidate is seeking to bar the elections commission from distributing a certified list of primary candidates to county clerks until the case is resolved.

According to the filing, Weaver sent a text message to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's chairman in early December 2023 requesting a conversation about ballot access, then spoke on the phone with DPW executive director Cassi Fenili and asked for Phillips to be included. Weaver ran Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and served as an adviser on his 2020 campaign.

Phillips' candidacy "speaks for itself," his attorneys wrote.

"He is the leading challenger to President Biden in this Democratic Primary, and the Wisconsin voters who are funding that Primary deserve to see him on their ballot," they wrote.

Last month, WEC quickly rejected a petition filed by Kirk Bangstad — a Democratic activist and owner of the Minocqua Brewing Co. — that sought to keep Trump off the ballot. Bangstad has since challenged the decision in Dane County Circuit Court and said he hopes it will reach the state Supreme Court.

Wisconsin voters will choose their preferences for president during the April 2 election, which also includes races for nonpartisan offices. This primary is "advisory," not binding — parties hold their own conventions to select a nominee, including the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which is July 15-18.

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin court may hear Dean Phillips bid to be on primary ballot