CONCORD, N.H. — Dean B. Phillips flashed a peace sign when he emerged from the New Hampshire State House on Oct. 27 to announce his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Campaign staffers for the congressman from Minnesota had worked to clear the plaza of pedestrians and set up professional lighting for his big made-for-TV speech, in which he expressed gratitude for President Biden but called for change.
“It is time for the torch to be passed to a new generation of American leaders,” he said.
Phillips, 54, officially launched his campaign here after Biden confirmed he will not appear on the ballot for New Hampshire’s Jan. 23 primary. Biden successfully nudged the Democratic National Committee to recognize South Carolina’s primary on Feb. 3 as the party’s lead-off contest, so he’s skipping New Hampshire altogether to abide by DNC rules.
That leaves Phillips and 20 other Democratic candidates on the ballot in New Hampshire while Biden’s name remains conspicuously absent.
Biden supporters have launched a write-in campaign in hopes of avoiding an embarrassing outcome here for the incumbent, but the risk remains that someone like Phillips could outperform expectations in the key early state.
Here are five things to know about Phillips, his candidacy, and his odds of success.
He is polling in second in New Hampshire
Biden is not on the ballot, but polling consistently shows him with a considerable lead among likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire. Phillips follows in a distant second place, either a few points ahead of or tied with self-help author Marianne Williamson.
In December, a poll from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center showed Biden at 50 percent, Phillips at 10 percent, and Williamson at 7 percent among likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire, while a co/efficient poll showed Biden at 38 percent and Phillips and Williamson at 7 percent apiece.
The big open question, of course, is how many of the voters who say they plan to write in Biden’s name follow through.
He is 26 years younger than Biden
Phillips will celebrate his 55th birthday a few days before New Hampshire voters cast their primary ballots. Biden will be 81 years old.
While some voters have expressed concerns about Biden’s stamina to lead effectively through a second four-year term — he would be 86 by the time he leaves office — Phillips has argued the problem with Biden’s age is that it leaves him out of touch with the American public.
“People in their 80s do not see things, have not lived things, have not experienced things that younger generations have,” Phillips recently told Newsweek, citing his commitment to marijuana legalization as an example of a policy priority that resonates with younger Americans.
Biden, who supports decriminalization, recently pardoned thousands who were convicted of simple marijuana use or possession, and he granted clemency to 11 people serving long sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.
He is viewed as centrist — somewhat
As a member of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, Phillips is generally viewed as a moderate Democrat, though he has made some overtures to the progressive wing of his party.
He recently endorsed “Medicare for All” legislation that would create a single-payer health care system, but told Politico he still takes issue with key parts of the bill. And he told the New York Post he’s embracing reparations for slavery and experiments with universal basic income.
Phillips, who is Jewish, has also criticized current Israeli leadership for oppressive policies, illegal settlements on Palestinian lands, and the extent of civilian bloodshed resulting from the ongoing military campaign against Hamas.
“Israel has every right and expectation to target Hamas terrorists and dismantle their capability of destroying the State of Israel,” he said. “But that response has taken an unacceptable toll on Palestinian civilians, many of whom are subject to Hamas terror – not supporters of it.”
His career on Capitol Hill is ending
Phillips, who was first elected to the House in 2018, announced in November that he won’t seek reelection to a fourth term in Congress.
His decision comes as a range of his Democratic colleagues criticized his presidential campaign.
“He seems to be taking a page out of the Trump playbook,” Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California told Axios. “It makes me wonder ... if he’s a real Democrat.”
His money came from liquor and gelato
Phillips ran his family’s Minnesota-based liquor enterprise, the Phillips Distilling Company, as president and CEO for nearly 20 years. He stepped down from that role in 2012 to manage Talenti Gelato, which Unilever bought in 2014.
Phillips also serves as cochair of The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota, which awards grants for education, economic development, and community safety initiatives in North Minneapolis.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.