Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota hopes to capitalize on the tension between New Hampshire Democrats and the national party, which ignored a state law requiring it to hold the first primary.
The Democratic National Committee warned the New Hampshire Democratic Party not to encourage voters to take part in the state’s Jan. 23 primary. The national party voted to make South Carolina the first primary of the year and will not award or recognize delegates based on the results of the New Hampshire primary.
Phillips launched his 2024 presidential bid in October, presenting himself as an alternative to President Joe Biden.
“We all know it’s time for change, and change requires courage,” he wrote on X on Jan. 23. “While our party calls your votes ‘meaningless’, I know they’ll be the most meaningful votes cast in American history.”
His message contained a post from Polling USA, which referenced data from a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris study. The poll, conducted between Jan. 17 - 18, found 82% of participants agreed with the statement “We need a new president.”
The poll also found that 47% of participants approved of what Joe Biden has done as president while 57% disapproved.
When he announced his campaign, Phillips stressed that he felt obligated to run.
“I will not sit still, I will not be quiet in the face of numbers that are so clearly saying we're going to be facing an emergency next November,” he said, per NBC News.
The 54-year-old is currently serving his third term in the House of Representatives. He is the Vice Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Middle East, Northern Africa, and Central Asia Subcommittee. Prior to politics, Phillips ran his family’s distilling business before taking over the management of Talenti Gelato, which became the third-largest premium ice cream brand in America. The brand was sold to Unilever for an undisclosed total in 2014.
Philips has also castigated the write-in campaign led by New Hampshire Democrats who are hoping to ensure Biden still wins their primary despite its disqualification by the DNC. In compliance with the party’s new schedule, the Biden reelection campaign did not file to appear on the ballot.
“People know he’s the president. They know it’s a primary, and they’re working their tails off to get … a write-in campaign. I’m telling you, he’s going to be the very weak candidate,” said he, per The Hill. “Now — not just on polls, which we all know — now voters are going to demonstrate the same thing, and we know what’s going on.”
Phillips launched his campaign after the deadline to appear on the ballot in Nevada, the DNC’s second official 2024 primary.
He told Fox News he has personally invested $5 million in his presidential bid and that "getting in the 20s would be an extraordinary accomplishment" during today's primary.
"[We] started at zero just 10 weeks ago. My name is not yet well known," he said.
