Long-shot Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips stopped by the Madison Street Lounge on Tuesday, Dec. 5 looking to court a younger voter base.
Phillips, a three-term U.S. House Representative of Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district, launched his presidential bid in late October, filing for N.H.’s first-in-the-nation primary.
In preparation for the campaign trail, Phillips plans to not run for reelection in his house seat, according to a Nov. 24 Associated Press article.
He cited concerns about incumbent President Joe Biden’s ability to defeat Donald Trump in a general election matchup in an Oct. 27 interview with MSNBC’s Meet the Press. Phillips, 54, also mentioned Biden’s age as a concern, with Biden having turned 81 in November.
According to a number of recently released national polls of the Democratic primary, Phillips is registering anywhere from 2-4%, with Biden registering upwards of 60% support among Democratic voters. A Dec. 8 poll from Emerson College Polling showed Biden with 63% support among registered voters, with Phillips at 2%, trailing author Marianne Williamson at 5%.
Among Democrats under 30 years old, support for Biden dropped to 56%, with 28% of the demographic remaining undecided in the contest.
The N.H. primary is set to be held on Jan. 23, in accordance with state law that mandates the contest be held at least one week before any other primary.
However, due to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) changing the primary calendar to move the Granite State as the second primary to be held concurrently with Nev. and following S.C., Biden’s name will not appear on the N.H. ballot.
While state election officials facilitate primary elections, they are traditionally sanctioned by each respective political party so that the winner of the contests can receive delegates at the party’s convention. With N.H.’s refusal to abide by the DNC’s set calendar, the party has warned that the state may not have any delegates to cast in the 2024 convention, according to a Sept. 14 CBS News article.
At Phillips’ campaign stop at KSC, he looked to zero in on the issues of affordable housing and college tuition.
Phillips said in the speech that he would build a multitude of new housing units, particularly in rural areas, which would be paid for by downsizing the military budget.
He also touted his record as a businessman, which he said is preferable to someone who is a career politician. “When you have a place that’s mostly populated with people who’ve spent their whole careers in public service, and I respect that, but you don’t have people who have outside experience,” he explained. Phillips previously co-owned Talenti Gelato and presently co-owns the company Penny’s Coffee.
After his stump speech, Phillips fielded questions from attendees in the audience. In response to a question regarding funding Social Security, Phillips noted his bipartisan record. “When I signed up to work with Mitt Romney to actually ensure that the trust fund supporting it are solvent, I got heat from my Democratic friends saying that I’m trying to undermine Social Security,” Phillips said.
Phillips’ proposed solution to fund the program would be to implement a more progressive tax that would raise the contribution cap to those earning $250,000 a year, which he said would ensure the program continues to be funded through the 2040s.
Members of Phillips’ campaign staff were tabling outside of the Madison Street Lounge for the event, offering stickers and pins supporting the Democrat. Additionally, campaign staffers asked students if they wanted to hear about Phillips’ plan to offer college tuition, free of cost.
In a Dec. 5 article from The Keene Sentinel, Phillips was quoted as saying, “I also believe in national health insurance. I believe in child care for all and pre-K education for all and most important, costfree college education and job training for all.”
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
nhope@kscequinox.com
