NASHUA, New Hampshire — Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) spent his 55th birthday at the Nashua Senior Activity Center convincing voters to support his long-shot campaign to unseat President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for president.
A packed crowd of supporters braved 19-degree weather to hear the Minnesota congressman speak just three days before the New Hampshire primary. Phillips took ample opportunities to slam Biden and members of his party who say the primary is “meaningless.”
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“On Tuesday night, all of you have a chance to completely redefine what meaningless really means,” Phillips said. “Are you ready to do that? Are you ready to send a message to Democrats and Republicans and all Americans that you all matter?”
“Yeah!” the crowd roared back.
Biden forfeited his position in the Granite State’s primary after he instructed the Democratic National Committee to replace New Hampshire as the first primary in the Democratic Party’s nominating schedule with South Carolina.
New Hampshire defied the wishes of the DNC, choosing to move forward with its primary, which is scheduled for Tuesday. The DNC will not award any delegates to the winner of the Democratic primary, though Biden allies are attempting a write-in campaign. However, Phillips knocked the write-in campaign.
“If he wrote you off, why would you write him in?” Phillips said to applause. “I think Mr. Biden took the Granite State for granted.”
He later called Democratic members stumping for Biden in New Hampshire, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), “pathetic” during a press gaggle.
Biden far outpolls and outraises Phillips in the primary as the incumbent, but that has not stopped the congressman from pushing forward in his quixotic campaign.
Phillips pointed to the past as an example of why his campaign could be successful.
“Remember going to sleep the night of the 2008 election, when that relatively unknown senator from Illinois had the audacity to challenge the Democratic National Committee to take on Hillary Clinton, and he won?” Phillips said, referencing former President Barack Obama.
“I’m not Barack Obama,” he continued. “I’m not even close. I’m Dean Phillips. We’re very different people. I know you know that. But I can bring back that feeling of decency and respect and integrity and competency and experience.”
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Phillips expressed high hopes for Tuesday night.
“As for Tuesday night, I think anything’s gonna be a success,” he said.
