CONCORD, N.H. — If there was any doubt, that was cleared up Friday when the Dean Phillips for President bus rolled into Concord, New Hampshire Friday.
Minnesota Democratic U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips formally filed paperwork Friday morning to run in New Hampshire's 2024 Democratic presidential primary, according to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office.
On Thursday, the office confirmed to KARE 11 that Phillips was on their registration calendar for 10 a.m. ET Oct. 27.
The development comes just a few days after the Dean bus was seen driving along a highway in Ohio earlier in the week. On Friday the congressmen addressed reporters from inside the bus, underlining the seriousness of his bid.
Sources close to Phillips have previously told KARE 11's Jana Shortal that the two-term Minnesota congressman was 99% likely to run. Friday morning, he confirmed the campaign in a lengthy X (formally Twitter) post, writing in part, "As I’ve been listening to voters the past few weeks, I’ve been really heartened by the support, and believe we can win both this primary and general election."
Phillips has been outspoken in his belief that incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden should not run for re-election next year, citing the president's advancing age. He first made headlines about considering a potential challenge to Biden in July. Speculation surrounding a Phillips candidacy was renewed earlier this month after he stepped down from a leadership role as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Caucus (DPCC).
Democratic strategist Joe Trippi opined that Phillips seems "clueless about what it takes to run for president." Trippi, who managed Howard Dean's campaign in 2004, also worked for Walter Mondale in 1984 and Ted Kennedy in 1980 (in a challenge to incumbent Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primary that year).
"Usually, it is a real policy difference that drives the challenger into the race. That's where this is really peculiar, because of Dean Phillips' record of voting 100 percent in support of Joe Biden policies," Trippi said. "The reason I feel this strongly is because the benefactor could be Donald Trump, the worst nightmare and the biggest threat in my view to democracy that could end up in the White House again. That he's willing to risk that, over not a single policy difference with Joe Biden, is stunning."
Meanwhile, Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin released a statement late Thursday night indicating that members of the party "are all enthusiastically supporting President Biden and Vice President Harris for reelection in both the primary and the general election campaign." He did not mention Phillips by name but criticized any attempt to challenge Biden in a primary.
"There is no reason to walk away from a President who has led Democrats to historic victories on everything from record low unemployment to action on climate change, gun reform, and lowering prescription drug costs," Martin said. "A primary challenge only wastes the resources we need to defeat Donald Trump and the MAGA extremists who are threatening our democracy.”
Even if Phillips does choose to enter the New Hampshire race, he's not expected to face Biden on the ballot. Biden will skip New Hampshire amid a disagreement between the Democratic National Committee and New Hampshire state leaders about when the primary should occur. Biden could still receive write-in votes.
The official start of the DNC nominating season will be South Carolina's primary on Feb. 3 - with New Hampshire scheduled for Feb. 6 - but state leaders in New Hampshire still want to hold their primary in late January.
Ray Buckley, the Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said he had to Google who Dean Phillips was after learning he wanted to file for president in his state.
"I told him that he certainly is free to file. We welcome anyone wanting to participate in the first-in-the-nation primary to do so," Buckley said. "We'll treat him fairly and provide the same information, same support services, that we give to every candidate running. We have a long history of that."
Buckley said he was disappointed by the Biden campaign's decision not to join the ballot, over the disagreement in the primary date.
"But he has such strong support here," Buckley said. "People will write his name in."
Steve Shurtleff, a former speaker of the New Hampshire House who has distanced himself from Biden, said he has spoken twice with Phillips and believed the congressman might appeal to some Democrats and independents who can choose to vote in the primary.
“I like Biden and have a lot of respect for him. But I’m disappointed that he and the DNC have tried to take away our primary,” Shurtleff said. “It’s not that I want to see Joe lose. It’s that I want to see our primary win.”
But Terry Shumaker, a former DNC member from New Hampshire and longtime Biden supporter, said he expects the president to easily clinch the state as a write-in option. Shumaker recalled going door to door for McCarthy in 1968, but doesn’t see Phillips gaining similar traction.
“I’m not aware of what his message is,” he said. “To do well in the New Hampshire primary, you have to have a message.”
There are no primary debates scheduled, according to the DNC. The only other Democrat running in the 2024 primary is self-help author Marianne Williamson. Anti-vaccine activist Robert Kennedy Jr. announced this month that he’s running as an independent.
Phillips is one of the wealthiest members of Congress and heir to his stepfather’s Phillips Distilling Company empire, which holds major vodka and schnapps brands. He once served as that company’s president but also ran the gelato maker Talenti. His grandmother was the late Pauline Phillips, better known as the advice columnist “Dear Abby.”
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