Dean Phillips is not a name often seen in the news. The Minnesota congressman appeared occasionally in national news stories throughout the first half of the year, when he was saying he might challenge President Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. After formally announcing his candidacy on Oct. 27 in Concord, New Hampshire, Phillips hasn’t gotten much more media attention. In large part that’s because Phillips has so far centered his campaign on being 27 years younger than Biden, rather than on any policy differences with the president.
Phillips did attract some national headlines this week when he announced he will be appealing the decisions made by the state parties in Tennessee and North Carolina to leave his name off their primary ballots, as well as the Florida Democratic Party’s decision to cancel its 2024 presidential primary.
“Unilaterally taking away the right of rank and file Democrats, including a disproportionate number of Black voters demanding a more affordable America, is reprehensible,” Phillips said in a written statement provided to Semafor’s Dave Weigel. “If Joe Biden is the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump and lead us to a safer, more affordable future, let him compete for that privilege without his supporters suppressing and disenfranchising millions of voters.”
But the chairs of the Tennessee and Florida parties told Weigel their decisions weren’t based on a desire to suppress or disenfranchise. Both said the problem is no one from Phillips’ campaign contacted them before the deadline for setting the ballot lineups. The North Carolina party has not yet responded to questions about its decision.
Phillips told Weigel he intends to file his appeals with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) next week.
One state Phillips doesn’t have to worry about — at least in terms of whether or not he will appear on the ballot — is Iowa. At its meeting on Dec. 2, the State Central Committee of the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) voted to list Phillips and self-help author Marianne Williamson on the party’s presidential preference cards, along with Biden.
IDP is already accepting requests for vote-by-mail presidential preference cards for its new caucus format. The cards can be requested online, or by printing out a form and mailing it in, through Feb. 19. The cards will be sent out starting on Jan. 12, and must be returned by March 5 to be considered valid. Results of the presidential preference contest will be announced on the night of March 5.
Phillips has no upcoming Iowa events listed on his campaign website. The only future event currently listed is the opening of a campaign office in Manchester, New Hampshire on Saturday.
Phillips has focused his campaign almost exclusively on New Hampshire, which is holding its primary on Jan. 23. Because the New Hampshire Democratic Party decided not to comply with DNC rules requiring it to hold the primary no earlier than March 5, its results will not count in determining the party’s nominee, and President Biden will not participate. Biden is not campaigning in New Hampshire and his name won’t appear on the ballot, but it’s likely he will still get enough write-in votes to win.
Phillips’ name will be on the New Hampshire primary ballot, along with 21 other candidates. In New Hampshire, anyone willing to fill out a form and pay $1,000 can appear on the presidential primary ballot. As is traditional, the 2024 New Hampshire ballot is full of candidates that won’t enter any other primary and a few perennial novelty candidates like Vermin Supreme.
Biden did compete in New Hampshire in 2020, finishing in fifth place, a slightly worse showing than his fourth-place finish in the Iowa Caucus.
