Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips reportedly plans to enter the 2024 race to challenge the White House and the Democratic nomination.
Two sources say this Politics that Phillips will launch his presidential campaign this Friday in Concord, New Hampshire.
A spokesperson for the Concord Department of Administrative Services told the newspaper that a permit for the State House Plaza was obtained by the Democratic consulting firm Fletcher Ridge.
An insider close to the campaign also told the publication that Fletcher Ridge had been approached about working with Phillips.
The congressman resigned from the House Democratic Leadership earlier this month 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 next Friday.
President Biden speaks during his meeting with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, October 20, 2023
Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley confirmed this News 9 that Phillips had contacted him about submitting a ballot.
Buckley told the outlet, “I had to Google him to find out who he was.” He also told the outlet that he told Phillips that once he registers his name, he can’t get off the ballot.
He added: “Joe Biden came to me in the 1970s, and that’s usually the path that successful candidates take.
“If Dean tries to introduce himself and make an impact in the primaries in a few weeks, I think it’s going to be a heavy burden.”
Fellow Democrats in Washington and New Hampshire have expressed disdain for Phillips’ move, saying it unnecessarily weakens Biden.
Rep. Betty McCollum, also from Minnesota, told Politico: “Dean is 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 that, then he should do it.”
This Friday’s event would also coincide with the filing deadline for a presidential run in the state.
Sirius XM host Tim Farley, left, speaks with New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley, right
Representative Dean Phillips walks down the House steps after the final votes of the week at the Capitol on Thursday, April 20, 2023
Terry Shumaker, a former ambassador and veteran of multiple Democratic presidential campaigns in New Shampshire, told the newspaper that Phillips is “too late.”
Shumaker said, “New Hampshire voters are not going to cut off their noses to despise their faces.
“New Hampshire Democrats and Independents recognize that Biden has done a very good job.
‘Phillips can try (to exploit the calendar), but he should have started six months ago. Frankly, I think it’s too late.’
Last month, Phillips said he was considering running Biden in the presidential primaries.
In September, he said on Steve Schmidt’s podcast The Warning: ‘I’m afraid there is no alternative.
“I’m afraid something could happen between now and November of next year that would make the Democratic Convention in Chicago a complete disaster.”
Biden has yet to face a serious challenge from his own party, despite his age, concerns among Democrats about his recent blunders and voters who say they would like an alternative.
Biden is currently facing Democratic challenges from self-help author Marianne Williamson.
Environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had run as a Democratic candidate, but announced earlier this month that he would now run as an independent.
Neither poses a major challenge in the polls, even as voters say they would like a different choice, citing Biden’s age.
Polls show that voters would like an alternative candidate to President Joe Biden. citing things like his age and a series of blunders
Author Marianne Williamson is already betting on the Democratic nomination in 2024
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an independent presidential bid earlier this month at an event at Independence Hall in Philadelphia
Polls show voters are concerned about Biden’s age. At 80, he is the oldest president in American history. If he were to win a second term, he would be 86 when this one is over.
A Wall Street Journal poll this summer found that 75 percent of voters think Biden is too old to run for a second term. Those who think Biden is too old include as many as two-thirds of Democrats.
Biden jokes about his age. He has also argued that this means he has the experience to do the job.
‘A lot of people seem focused on my age. Believe me, I know it better than anyone,” he said recently at a fundraiser in New York. ‘When this country was flat on its back, I knew what I had to do.
“I am more optimistic about the future of this country than I have been in the 800 years I have served,” he added with a laugh.
Phillips is a three-term moderate Democrat from suburban Minneapolis. He previously worked in corporate marketing and branding.
His grandmother was Pauline Esther Phillips, better known as the advice columnist Dear Abby.