Minnesota third district congressman Dean Phillips says his long-shot campaign for president is still alive, but he went on social media Friday to say how hard it's been to raise money as an outlyer candidate.
"I found it almost impossible to raise enough to do this campaign the way I want," he said. "Sadly, I had to announce layoffs to a lot of my staff members. It was a really tough day for all of us."
Phillips did not reveal the number of people who were laid off, and names were not revealed.
"Amazing people who gave up a lot personally and a lot professionally to join this remarkable campaign," he said.
Phillips noted that he went to fund raisers and made phone calls himself, but the necessary return was not there.
"When you're running as an insurgent, as a candidate that the Democratic Party doesn't want to see in the race, and a party that doesn't want to see any competitive primary right now, it's really hard," Phillips said. "It's hard to raise money, it's hard to generate platform to introduce myself, and it's hard when your party is working against you."
Phillips did receive about 20 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary.
That primary, which was not recognized by the Democratic party, saw President Biden win even though he was not on the ballot.
Biden also won in South Carolina, with Phillips garnering just one percent of the vote while finishing a distant third.