Minnesota Representative Dean Phillips is reportedly planning to jump into the 2024 race for the White House and challenge the Democratic nomination.
Two sources told Politico that Phillips will launch his presidential campaign this coming Friday in Concord, New Hampshire.
A spokesperson for the Concord Department of Administrative Services told the outlet that a permit for the State House Plaza had been obtained by Democratic consulting firm Fletcher Ridge.
An insider close to the campaign also told the publication that Fletcher Ridge had been approached to work with Phillips.
The congressman stepped down earlier this month from the House Democratic Leadership and said he was considering a move to challenge President Biden.
Two people directly familiar with the move told Politico that Phillips, pictured here in 2021, will launch his presidential campaign this coming Friday
President Biden speaks as he meets with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023
Democratic Party chairman Ray Buckley confirmed to News 9 that Phillips had contacted him about filing for the ballot.
Buckley told the outlet: ‘I had to Google him to find out who he was’, he also told the outlet that he said to Phillips that once he files his name he cannot get off the ballot.
He added: ‘Joe Biden started coming up to me in the 1970s, and that’s usually the pathway that successful candidates take.
‘For Dean to try to introduce himself in just a matter of weeks and make a mark in the primary, I think it’s going to be a heavy load.’
Fellow Democrats in Washington and New Hampshire have expressed their disdain at the move by Phillips, saying it unnecessarily weakens Biden.
Rep. Betty McCollum, also of Minnesota, told Politico: ‘Dean’s going to do what he wants to do.
‘It’s a free country, and if that’s where his heart is and he wants to do it, then he should.’
The event next Friday would also coincide with the deadline to file for a Presidential run in the state.
Sirius XM host Tim Farley, left, speaks with New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley, right
Rep. Dean Phillips walks down the House steps after the last votes of the week in the Capitol on Thursday, April 20, 2023
Terry Shumaker, a former ambassador and veteran of multiple Democratic presidential campaigns in New Shampshire told the outlet that Phillips is ‘too late’.
Shumaker said: ‘New Hampshire voters are not going to cut off their nose to spite their face.
‘New Hampshire Democrats and Independents recognize that Biden has done a really good job.
‘Phillips can try [to exploit the calendar], but he should’ve started six months ago. Frankly, I think it’s too late.’
Last month, Phillips said he was thinking of taking on Biden in the presidential primary.
Speaking on Steve Schmidt’s podcast The Warning in September, he said: ‘I’m concerned that there is no alternative.
‘I’m concerned that something could happen between now and next November that would make the Democratic Convention in Chicago an unmitigated disaster.’
Biden has yet to face a serious challenge from his own party despite his age, alarm among Democrats at his recent gaffes, and voters saying they’d like an alternative.
Biden is currently facing Democratic challenges from self-help author Marianne Williamson.
Environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had been running for the Democrats but announced earlier this month he would now run as an Independent.
Neither is presenting a strong challenge in the polls even as voters say they’d like a different choice, citing Biden’s age.
Polls show voters would like an alternative candidate to President Joe Biden. citing issues like his age and a series of gaffes
Author Marianne Williamson is already running a longshot bid for the Democratic nomination in 2024
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an independent presidential bid earlier this month during an event at Independence Hall in Philadelphia
Polls show voters are concerned about Biden’s age. At 80 he is the oldest president in U.S. history. If he won a second term, he would be 86 when it was completed.
A Wall Street Journal poll this summer showed 75 percent of voters think Biden is too old to run for a second term. Those who feels Biden is too old includes a whopping two-thirds of Democrats.
Biden has joked about his age. He’s also argued it means he has the experience to do the job.
‘A lot of people seem focused on my age. Believe me, I know better than anyone,’ he said at a fundraiser in New York recently. ‘When this nation was flat on its back, I knew what to do.
‘I am more optimistic about the future of this country than in the 800 years I’ve served,’ he added to laughter.
Phillips is a three-term moderate Democrat from the Minneapolis suburbs. He previously worked in corporate marketing and branding.
His grandmother was Pauline Esther Phillips, better known as the advice columnist Dear Abby.