Push to put U.S. Rep. on Florida’s Dem primary ballot gets federal court hearing

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Should Florida Democrats put more than just President Joe Biden on Florida’s primary ballot, including U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips"? The state party doesn’t think so, but it’s now a question for a federal judge after a new legal challenge.

The lawsuit was filed last week, and first reported by the Florida Phoenix, in the state’s Northern District by Florida attorney Michael Steinberg who’s unsuccessfully run for various offices in the past. He thinks the Florida Democratic Party violated equal protection and due process rights in the U.S. Constitution when it voted to advance only the current president’s name for next year’s Presidential Preference ballot.

Steinberg wants to force state election officials to add a fellow Democrat, Phillips of Minnesota, to the ballot. His complaint says without Phillips, "a grave inequity would result because only President Joseph Biden would have gained access to the ballot by unconstitutional means."

Phillips isn’t a party in the lawsuit but has criticized Florida Democrats for their decision with online posts like this one.