Biden Campaign Co-Chair Panics Over Primary Challenger: ‘No Party Has Ever Survived That’
While Rep. Dean Phillips‘ (D-MN) nascent primary challenge to President Joe Biden may strike some as the meaningless zag of a gadfly, Democratic insiders — including Biden campaign co-chairman Cedric Richmond — are far from sanguine about it.
According to The Atlantic‘s Tim Alberta, “Dems are freaking out and for good reason,” because Phillips has “deep pockets and influential friends.” Those friends include Billy Shaheen, “a longtime kingmaker in New Hampshire presidential politics” and the husband of Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
Dems are freaking out, and for good reason. Dean Phillips may not be some heavyweight, but he’s got deep pockets and influential friends.
In New Hampshire, Billy Shaheen—longtime kingmaker and husband of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen—is helping his campaign.https://t.co/gvy9RrT1Qk
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) October 27, 2023
Phillips told Alberta that his candidacy is motivated by a desire to ensure Democrats are positioned to beat Donald Trump in 2024, either with himself at the top of the ticket or by strengthening Biden through his challenge.
“Being old, in decline, and having numbers that are clearly moving in the wrong direction? It’s getting to red-alert kind of stuff,” remarked Phillips about Biden. “Someone had to do this.”
Richmond saw it another way, submitting that Phillips was pursuing a “vanity project.”
“History tells us when the sitting president faces a primary challenge, it weakens him for the general election,” warned Richmond ominously. “No party has ever survived that.”
Nevertheless, Phillips insists that if his primary bid flails, it will only help Biden. “If it’s Joe Biden — if he kicks my tuchus in the opening states — he looks strong, and that makes him stronger,” he submitted to Alberta, who shot back that that theory belies past evidence.”
“I understand why conventional wisdom says that’s threatening,” replied Phillips, “But my gosh, if it’s threatening to go out and listen to people and talk publicly about what’s on people’s minds, and that’s something we should be protecting against, we have bigger problems than I ever thought.”
