Wisconsin Supreme Court rules that Dean Phillips must be on the primary ballot

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Rep. Dean Phillips will be on the Democratic primary ballot, saying he meets the standard for candidate eligibility.

“Consequently, we direct that the name of Dean Phillips be placed on the 2024 Democratic presidential preference primary ballot as a candidate for the office of president of the United States,” the court said in the Friday opinion.

The ruling means President Joe Biden will have one Democratic challenger in the state’s April 2 primary.

Phillips, D-Minn., celebrated the ruling in a post to X, saying, “Thank goodness democracy is being protected by the judiciary, because our political parties are eroding it right in front of our eyes.”

“I’ll keep exposing the truth and saying the quiet part out loud,” he added.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The court wrote that the committee that determines which candidates appear on the party’s ballot “is granted discretion in determining whether a particular candidacy meets that standard” of being “generally advocated or recognized in the national news media.”

Phillips argued last week that he met the media standard and should be allowed on the ballot.

The court found that the committee “held no discussion about Phillips or any other Democratic presidential primary candidate,” noting that the committee’s meeting regarding names for the ballot “lasted just over five minutes.”

The court added that it would usually put the issue back in front of the state’s Presidential Preference Selection Committee and instruct the panel to “properly exercise its discretion,” but decided there was not enough time before the primary, so it ruled for Phillips to be placed on the ballot.

The Phillips campaign has frequently railed against what it calls “suppression tactics from Biden and his allies,” arguing that Phillips has been improperly kept off of the primary ballot in multiple states.

“We are fighting to give voters a choice this election cycle — something that Democratic leadership across the country should be embracing if they truly value having a democratic election,” Phillips said in a statement Friday.

Polling indicates the president has amassed overwhelming support from his party, while an NBC News poll from November showed that Phillips was supported by just 4% of national Democratic primary voters.

Biden won the New Hampshire primary with nearly 65% of the vote, despite not being listed on the ballot. Phillips garnered about 20% of the vote.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com