Dean Phillips’ long-shot campaign against President Joe Biden is running into another snag as Flordia plans to forgo a Democratic primary contest—leaving Phillips enraged and off the ballot. “Americans would expect the absence of democracy in Tehran, not Tallahassee,” Phillips told Politico. “The intentional disenfranchisement of voters runs counter to everything for which our Democratic Party and country stand. Our mission as Democrats is to defeat authoritarians, not become them.” Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried shot back: “We are dismayed by Dean Phillps’ conspiratorial and inappropriate comments comparing the state of Florida to the Iranian regime as part of his knee-jerk reaction to long-established procedures.”
