Dean Phillips agrees with Joe Biden most of the time. Here's why the Democrat is still challenging him

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The 2024 campaign trail isn’t panning out quite like Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips had hoped.

Phillips, who currently serves in the U.S. House, launched a primary challenge against President Joe Biden last month. In his longshot bid to unseat the president, the Minnesota lawmaker said he was aiming for 20% support among Democratic and undeclared voters in New Hampshire by the end of November.

So far, that support hasn’t materialized. A Nov. 17 poll published by CNN and the University of New Hampshire found the multimillionaire at 10% among Democrats and independent voters in the Granite State. That's compared to Biden’s over 60%.

Phillips' candidacy has left some New Hampshire voters wondering why he's challenging the president, since Phillips has supported nearly all of Biden's signature policy achievements in Congress.

The lawmaker has cited fear of Biden’s age, 81, and his ability to take on former President Donald Trump. Here’s a closer look at why, two months from the first-in-the-nation primary, the former gelato mogul believes he’s a better option for Democrats than Biden.

General election fears

Phillips hasn’t read too much into his poor polling numbers, chalking them up to name recognition. The lawmaker told USA TODAY “Biden has had a 50-year head start,” to build his reputation.

When it comes to general election polling, the Minnesotan has repeatedly expressed concern about results showing Trump handily beating Biden.

“The polling on President Biden, I believe, is consistent with what’s going to happen, and that’s why I’m doing this,” Phillips told USA TODAY during a sit-down interview in November. “The only lens I considered this through is whether what I did would be helpful to defeat Donald Trump.”

In recent weeks, Phillips has emphasized a New York Times-Siena College survey showing that a “generic” Democratic candidate would beat Trump by eight points nationally, compared to a 4-point Trump victory in a match-up with Biden.

“You can call me anything you want as long I beat Trump,” he said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, about the survey.

Phillips has also tried to shrug off criticism from Democrats that his primary challenge will hurt Biden in the general election. Should Biden prevail in the primary, as is widely expected, Phillips has argued his candidacy will simply be a warm-up for the president.

“Incumbent presidents are never challenged unless they are almost certain to lose. It’s a great way for the political industrial complex to try to make a case that is antithetical to reality,” he said.

USA TODAY has reached out to Biden's reelection campaign for comment.

A new generation of leadership?

For months before announcing his campaign, Phillips called on Biden to step aside in the 2024 race and pass the torch to a new generation of Democrats. He urged fellow leaders in the Midwest, such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, to mount White House bids.

The 54-year-old lawmaker's criticisms of Biden’s age have only grown louder since he entered the race.

“I’ve seen it with Sen. [Diane] Feinstein. I’ve seen it with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I’ve seen it with President Biden. People who are in the dusk of life, actuarily speaking, are somehow convinced by the people around them who have something to protect that it’s in their best interest to stick around,” Phillips said “More often than not, it’s not in their best interest.”

The president has often tried to laugh off questions about his age. On Biden's birthday in November, he joked that "it's difficult turning 60."

Nevertheless, Phillips has expressed concern about how Biden’s age may impact his ability to campaign. The lawmaker has taken aim at Biden for his lack of a busy reelection schedule and formal interactions with the press at regular news conferences.

“Why no press conferences? Why almost no Q&A at events? Why no unplanned, unmanaged interactions?” he asked.

An out-of-touch economic agenda?

Phillips has essentially sided with Biden’s policy positions at every turn in Congress. The officials have agreed on everything from infrastructure legislation to abortion protections across the country.

Earlier this year, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters “We appreciate the congressman’s almost 100% support of this president.”

But Phillips says there's one policy area motivating his campaign against Biden: the economy.

The issue for Phillips is less about any real tactical policy disagreement with Biden and more about the president’s messaging around Bidenomics, a term he uses to tout his economic agenda. Telling the American people the U.S. economy is thriving misses the mark with what voters see at the grocery store and gas pump, Phillips argued.

“I respect the president and I believe that he’s got a good group of people around him. I think he’s tried his best,” Phillips said. “But he is 100% out of step with what people are feeling.”

“There is no other answer. People are really, really struggling with affordability,” Phillips added. In recent years, the nation has seen increasing interest rates, significant inflation and other daily economic challenges.

Phillips on the campaign trail has pushed for plans similar to Biden’s, focused on broad ideas of restructuring the economy to deal with inequality. But he has also avoided praising most Democratic plans, including the stimulus packages he and other Democrats passed during the coronavirus pandemic.

While inflation rates impacting many consumer goods have dropped sharply from their peak last summer, the Minnesota lawmaker has still argued Biden's economic approach fails to unite Americans on the left and right.

“When Democrats act in moderate fashions, are inclusive of different perspectives, argue their principles, we win,” Phillips said. “When we are too far left, we don’t.”

Contributing: Francesca Chambers and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phillips vs. Biden: Why a Democrat is challenging the president