Though President Joe Biden remains the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election, the recent emergence of Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) as a contender for the nod means that before long, the incumbent will be forced to address the concerns the upstart hopeful has raised about his age and cognitive capacity, as Politico reports.

Phillips, 54, has long raised concerns about Biden's ability to win next November, let alone competently serve for another four years in the Oval Office, and on Friday, he threw his own hat into the electoral ring, as the Associated Press reported.

Phillips jumps in

Launching his campaign on Friday in New Hampshire, Phillips declared, “It is time for the torch to be passed to a new generation of American leaders.”

Phillips also took to social media to articulate his reasons for entering the electoral fray, saying, “I didn't set out to enter this race. But it looks like on our current course, the Democrats will lose and [Donald] Trump will be our president again.”

“President Biden is a good man and someone I tremendously respect. I understand why other Democrats don't want to run against him, and why we are here. This is a last-minute campaign, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and courage is an important value to me,” Phillips added.

Speaking to CBS News, Phillips commended Biden's performance during his first term but added that, “it's not about the past. This is an election about the future. I will not sit still, I will not be quiet, when we're facing numbers that are so clearly saying that we'll be facing an emergency next November.”

Longshot bid

As the Guardian points out, Phillips does not have anything resembling a clear path to the Democratic nomination, as the party elite have thus far remained firm on supporting Biden's re-election campaign.

Phillips, though personally wealthy, is unlikely to garner the necessary financial support to mount a significant challenge during the primary process, and his presence in the race may inflame more of his fellow Democrats than impress them.

The Minnesota lawmaker appears primarily focused on the fact that recent polling suggests that more than 7 out of 10 Democrats believe Biden is too old to serve another term in office, a tally that jumps to 77% when all American adults are queried on the issue.

Even so, Phillips is unlikely to pose any credible threat to Biden's grip on the nomination, but that is not to say that Democrat insiders have no fears about the potential ramifications of his candidacy.

The threat from within

As Politico's Steven Shepard explains, the danger posed by Phillips' campaign stems more from the concerns he will surely raise in the mind of voters about Biden's long-term viability.

Shepard notes that while Phillips poses little to no challenge to Biden in the primary stakes, his candidacy will put the spotlight on Biden's critical vulnerability -- his advanced age and what many believe is advancing cognitive decline.

Such a focus could according to Shepard, cause support to shift away from Biden and in the direction of Trump -- the undisputed frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

In Shepard's estimation, “even a nominal challenge could affect the general election, and if the Democratic primary race yields excessive discussion of Biden's age and possible infirmity, the ultimate nominee could emerge so bruised that they start the general election at a disadvantage,” and that is in outcome almost certain to inure to Trump's benefit.