'Rigging the primary': Lawmaker vying to beat Biden accuses FL Dems of 'blatant act of electoral corruption'

United States Representative Dean Phillips (D-MN) is unhappy with a recent decision made by the Florida Democratic Party in light of the Minnesota lawmaker's bid to replace President Joe Biden next year.

According to a Thursday, November 30 Politico report, the Sunshine State will "hold no presidential primary election for Democrats this cycle after the state party submitted" Biden's name, alone, for the nomination.

In a statement to the news outlet, "Phillips called the handling of the process by the Florida Democrats a 'blatant act of electoral corruption' and demanded Biden 'condemn and immediately address' it."

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Accusing the party of "rigging the primary," the Democratic congressman said, "Americans would expect the absence of democracy in Tehran, not Tallahassee. 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."

Phillips' senior advisor Jeff Weaver said, “The Florida party is engaging in the politburo politics of places like Cuba or the old Soviet Union. Communist Party insiders make the decision instead of the people. After all that has been done to erode confidence in the democratic process since 2020, does our party really want the legitimacy of our nominee to be put in question by this corrupt, rigged process?”

However, a spokesperson for the party "said the committee offered to provide guidance to the Phillips campaign on state party processes weeks ago, but that the campaign did not take up the offer, and continues to be available to him and other Democratic candidates."

Politico reports:

The Phillips campaign’s complaint is rooted in the process by which candidates can get on the ballot in Florida. Under state law, it is left up to the parties to decide who makes the primary ballot. The deadline for parties to submit a list of approved candidates to state election officials is Thursday.

But Florida Democrats acted before then, sending a notice on Nov. 1 to the state that had Biden as the only primary candidate. Phillips had entered the race a few days earlier, and self-help guru Marianne Williamson had been campaigning for months by then. Under state law, if a party only signs off on one candidate for the primary ballot, the contest is not held.

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"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," Florida Democratic Chair Nikki Fried said. "This is unbecoming of someone running for higher office."

According to Politico, Phillips "threatened a lawsuit and a convention fight if he didn't win ballot access in the state."

Politico's full report is here.