Dean Phillips: 5 things to know about Biden's Democrat challenger
A primary challenger to President Joe Biden is slated to pick up votes in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary Tuesday as the former president has opted out of the contest due to the state receiving a penalty for holding its primary before South Carolina’s, which the Democratic National Committee wanted to make the first state in the U.S. to hold its presidential primary ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
According to The Green Papers, which keeps track of presidential primaries and caucuses, no candidates will receive delegates in the non-binding primary. However, the contest could serve as an indicator of the level of opposition to Biden within his party as he remains the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., is one of 21 candidates appearing on the Democratic primary ballot in New Hampshire Tuesday. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls taken between Dec. 5 and Jan. 17, Phillips has the support of 3% of Democratic primary voters nationally, coming in far behind Biden’s 70%.
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However, a strong performance in New Hampshire could buoy Phillips’ prospects nationally. A poll from WHDH-TV and Emerson College of New Hampshire voters taken from Jan. 18-20 shows that 61% of primary voters in the state plan on supporting a write-in campaign for Biden while 16% plan to vote for Phillips.
Phillips formally announced his candidacy for president in New Hampshire on Oct. 27. Phillips is the third prominent Democrat to challenge Biden, along with unsuccessful 2020 Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was also a Democrat challenger to Biden before he switched to run as an independent candidate for president.
In an X post sharing a clip of his announcement on CBS, Phillips cited his concern that “on our current course, the Democrats will lose and [former President Donald] Trump will be our president again” as the primary reason for his entry into the race.
I am running for President as a Democrat in 2024.
— Dean Phillips ???????? (@deanbphillips) October 27, 2023
My campaign will be about four main things.
First and foremost, it will be about the economy. We have to make life more affordable for the middle class, which is the issue that voters care about most. We need to bring down the… https://t.co/dNyRtITHzq
While praising Biden as “a good man” and “someone I tremendously respect,” Phillips warned that “if President Biden is the nominee, we face an unacceptable risk of Trump being back in the White House.” Phillips’ comments reflect that Biden suffers from low approval ratings and that Trump continues to dominate Republican presidential primary polling.
According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls measuring Biden’s approval ratings from Dec. 26-Jan. 21, just 39.8% of voters approve of Biden’s job performance, while 56.4% disapprove. At the same time, the RealClearPolitics average of polls sampling the opinions of Republican primary voters taken from Dec. 26-Jan. 18 shows Trump securing 66.1% of the vote.
The RealClearPolitics average of polls testing voter preferences in a hypothetical general election matchup between Trump and Biden shows Trump with a 2.9 percentage point lead. This average is based on polls conducted between Dec. 26 and Jan. 21.
Phillips identified the economy and safety as “the generational change the country wants” as well as “listening to each other to get back to a less divisive political environment” as the primary areas of focus of his campaign. While he acknowledged “this campaign is a long shot,” Phillips expressed optimism that “we can do this together.”
Here’s a list of five things to know about the newly declared presidential candidate.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
