Democrat Presidential Candidate Dean Phillips Under Fire from Biden Allies for Campaigning in New Hampshire

President Joe Biden’s allies are taking aim at Democrat presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) for campaigning in New Hampshire, which is not in compliance with the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) new nominating schedule that revoked the Granite State’s cherished status as the first Democrat primary state in the nation. 

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) have issued highly critical statements of Phillips for campaigning in New Hampshire, which served as a centerpiece of his opening advertisement, per AdImpact.

The state has long been the site of the first Democrat and Republican primaries in the nation, and a state law established in 1976 mandates primaries be scheduled a week before any “similar contest,” as Time has noted.

But after Biden suggested changes to the Democrat Party’s nominating calendar, the DNC moved to revoke New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary status, replacing it with South Carolina, which is typically the second Democrat primary state. The move also pushed the Iowa Caucuses back to March 5 — Super Tuesday. However, New Hampshire will move forward by holding a primary ahead of other states despite the new schedule and at risk of punishment from the DNC, though a date has not yet been set, PBS notes. 

Clyburn, a Biden ally who gave the president a key endorsement ahead of the South Carolina primary in 2020, told the Messenger: 

South Carolinians have demonstrated for decades that we are good predictors of great presidential candidates. Apparently, Dean Phillips disagrees. The Minnesota congressman is not respecting the wishes of the titular head of our Party and the loyalties of some of our Party’s most reliable constituents.

Black voters are an essential piece of the Democratic coalition, and any candidate for President of the United States ought to know and respect their pivotal role in how Democrats win national elections. There is too much at stake to pay attention to this kind of silliness.

In response, Phillips said that he was disappointed in Clyburn when asked by Fox News New Hampshire-based reporter Paul Steinhauser about the South Carolina congressman’s comments. 

“I’m disappointed. Mr. Clyburn, a man I admire and respect, knows better, and that’s exactly the political conversation that is dividing the country right now,” Phillips said. 

“Anybody who knows me and will get to know me knows how much affection and appreciation I have for every community,” he added. 

“Those who are participating in dividing by casting blame and shadow on people like me, that’s part of the problem,” Phillips stated. 

Jones took issue with Phillips’s sentiment in his comments to Politico Playbook published on Wednesday, calling him “the misguided gentleman from Minnesota.” 

“[T]here is likely no one in the Democratic Party — or the country for that matter — who ‘knows better’ about Black voters and their fundamental role they play in our democratic process than Jim Clyburn,” Jones said, adding: 

What a deeply insulting, and frankly wildly off-base, thing to say — but I guess that’s the advice you get when you have a Republican running your campaign. The reality is [Phillips’] bizarre effort running for president in the only state without delegates and with virtually zero support appears to be floundering less than a week after its launch — and throwing insults at one of the most revered and accomplished members of our party certainly isn’t going to revive it.

While Phillips and fellow Democrat candidate Marianne Williamson registered for the New Hampshire primary, as the Associated Press pointed out, Biden’s name will not be on the ballot, as he keeps in line with the DNC’s new schedule that he helped spur. Nonetheless, Biden supporters are engaged in a write-in campaign to get the president as many write-in votes as possible in the Granite State, Politico noted.

Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign appeared dead in the water after coming in fourth in the Iowa Caucus and fifth in the New Hampshire primary. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) were the top performers in both states, but Biden’s campaign saw a resurgence in South Carolina, where he took nearly 50 percent of the support in a crowded field, opening the door for him to make a successful run for the nomination.

While Phillips takes incoming fire from Biden’s allies, Biden heads to Phillips’ home state of Minnesota on Wednesday for a stop at a farm and a fundraiser, as Politico noted.