(NewsNation) — U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent President Joe Biden in the upcoming primaries. Here’s what we know about Phillips.
Phillips, a three-term congressman, has repeatedly said a competitive Democratic primary is needed, NewsNation partner The Hill writes. Although Phillips has praised Biden in the past, he’s also said the party and country should move on to a new generation of leaders.
Phillips is also taking on author Marianne Williamson and political commentator Cenk Uygur in the Democratic primary. Robert F. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and vaccine skeptic who had been running for president as a Democrat, decided to run as an independent.
FiveThirtyEight’s vote tracker shows Philips has voted in line with Biden’s positions 100% of the time.
Phillips is heir to his stepfather’s Phillips Distilling Company empire and had been CEO until 2012 when he stepped down.
His biological father, Artie, died in the Vietnam War, according to Phillips’ website. In 2023, Phillips was able to go to Vietnam to visit the site of the helicopter crash that killed his father and seven other soldiers, NBC reported in May.
His grandmother, the late Pauline Phillips, was the famed advice columnist who penned “Dear Abby.”
After attending Brown University, Phillips got an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Business. Before leading Phillips Distilling, he worked at a variety of small startups. He would later go on to run gelato maker Talenti and then co-founded Penny’s Coffee in the Twin Cities.
Phillips’ assets were valued between $20.5 and $70 million in 2022, according to a financial disclosure report he submitted to Congress that was posted by Axios.
He has been named as one of the wealthiest members of the House of Representatives by various news outlets, including Business Insider.
Driving a gelato truck became a centerpiece of Phillips’ first campaign in 2018. During that election, he beat five-term Rep. Erik Paulsen, a Republican. While the 3rd Congressional District in Minnesota that Phillips represents has become more Democratic-leaning, the lawmaker has stressed that he is a moderate focused on suburban constituents.
Currently, Phillips is a ranking member of the House Small Business Committee and House Foreign Affairs Middle East, Northern Africa, and Central Asia Subcommittee. Shortly before he announced his run for president, Phillips stepped down as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, Axios reported.
He has two adult daughters, Daniela and Pia, from a previous marriage, and currently lives in Wayzata, Minnesota, with his wife Annalise and Henry, a Norwich Terrier with his own Instagram account.
NewsNation will host a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate forum with Marianne Williamson, Cenk Uygur and Dean Phillips Friday, Jan. 12 at 9/8. Find your channel here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.