MN Rep. Phillips falls short in New Hampshire, takes second in primary

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips finished a distant second to President Joe Biden in the New Hampshire Primary on Tuesday.

Phillips garnered roughly 20% of the vote while Biden won over 54% of the vote despite not even being on the ballot, thanks to a write-in campaign headed by volunteers. 10% of write-in ballots remained unprocessed as of early Wednesday afternoon, but most will likely go to Biden.

This isn't the end of candidate Phillips. His South Carolina campaign started Wednesday.

The long-shot candidate has run the entirety of his campaign in the Granite State, focusing on positioning himself as a younger alternative to the incumbent president. But the lack of acknowledgement from his fellow Democrats has led to a campaign with little outside support and an end to his congressional career.

Who voted for Phillips in New Hampshire?

Adam Pescosolidi, a student at Great Bay Community College, cast his vote for Phillips at a New Hampshire polling place on Tuesday.

"Biden, he's getting a little old," said Pescosolidi, 19. "I've seen Phillips, I've been seeing a lot of stuff about how he wants to improve the American health care system, to simplify it, so that we're not paying so much to these insurance companies that are already getting money from the government."

Phillips was aiming his campaign at people like Pescosolidi who are concerned about Biden's age (81), aren't satisfied with the president, or just want a different option.

"Americans want to turn the page from Donald Trump and Joe Biden," Phillips said at a Democratic debate in early January. "I suspect most of you in this room want to turn the page to the future."

Indeed, Americans have expressed their disapproval over Biden: a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll showed black, hispanic, and young voters abandoning the president. But in New Hampshire, they also didn't want Phillips. Of likely Democratic primary voters in the state, only 6% said they would be enthusiastic if Phillips was the nominee.

Why wasn't Joe Biden on the ballot?

Biden did not register for the New Hampshire primary because of a dispute with the Democratic National Convention over which state will hold the first-in-the-nation primary.

Last year, the DNC chose South Carolina to lead the nominating process instead of New Hampshire, which had held the first primary for over 100 years. Many leading New Hampshire Democrats criticized the decision, and the state decided to hold the unsanctioned primary first anyways.

Phillips also criticized Biden and the DNC for minimizing New Hampshire's primary. "I think it's one of the most egregious affronts to democracy I've ever seen in my entire lifetime as an American," he said.

While Biden still won the primary because of a grassroots movement to write in his name on the ballot, he won't receive any delegates due to the conflict.

More: Why President Joe Biden is a write-in candidate on the 2024 New Hampshire primary ballot

Late to the party, and uninvited

Steve Schier, a retired politics professor from Carleton College, said Phillips' October decision to run for the White House was not a "well-thought out" one.

The third district congressman representing southwestern suburbs of the Twin Cities filed so late that he missed the deadline for Nevada, a key state swing state won by Biden in 2020.

Soon after announcing his candidacy, Phillips said that he would not seek re-election for his congressional seat, even if he was unable to get the Democratic nomination.

Leading up the primaries, Phillips missed a number of House votes and spent his time almost exclusively in New Hampshire. Phillips received considerable backlash from fellow Minnesota Democrats and was virtually ignored by the Biden administration, creating a shift in relationships with colleagues at home in Minnesota and in D.C.

"It's very unusual for someone with such a secure political decision to throw it all away and take a big risk," Schier said. "I think he decided that there was something more important than a House career for him."

Phillips has polled consistently low. According to a University of New Hampshire Survey Center Poll, 10% of likely New Hampshire Democratic voters supported Phillips - a number that hadn't risen since November despite campaigning almost exclusively in the state.

The three-term congressman has struggled to distinguish himself from the president. A moderate Democrat whose House vote records nearly perfectly align with that of Biden, Phillips has cast doubt on the president's mental fitness.

More: Are some candidates too old to be running for president? How age will play a role in the 2024 campaign

Schier said that in recent weeks, Phillips has attempted to highlight policy differences to attract disillusioned Democratic and independent voters.

"After all, you're trying to get Democrats to support you," he said. "So how do you do that without sounding like a Republican?"

Despite this early loss, Phillips said he isn't dropping out anytime soon. In a press release on Wednesday, Phillips said, "America deserves an executive who will lead with invitation, not confrontation."

"It's been a remarkable journey and it's just getting started."

— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota election reporting fellow from USA TODAY. You can reach her at swoodward@gannett.com and on X @woodyreports

— Margie Cullen is the New Hampshire election reporting fellow at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mcullen@gannett.com and on X @margiecullen_

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Congressman Phillips took second in New Hampshire primary: Here's why