Dean Phillips says Republicans will win big if they ‘elevate Nikki Haley’ against Biden

EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) predicted former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley would defeat President Joe Biden in a 2024 matchup if she becomes the Republican nominee.

In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Phillips warned that former President Donald Trump would defeat Biden in a general election, and “If Republicans elevate Nikki Haley, I think Republicans win even by a bigger margin.”

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But, Phillips said, “If Democrats were to elevate me, I believe Democrats will win in 2024.”

The Biden campaign did not provide comment to the Washington Examiner.

Haley’s campaign recently highlighted her particularly strong advantage over Biden in a new Wall Street Journal poll, in which she leads him by 17 points, 51% to 34%.

The former ambassador has been riding a wave of momentum since the first Republican National Committee debate in August. Following the debate, Haley saw a boost in her national and early state polling stature and was notably the only Republican besides Trump to show an upward trend.

Since then, Haley has surpassed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in New Hampshire, expanded her lead over him in South Carolina, her home state, and begun to threaten his stance in Iowa, where DeSantis has been focusing his campaign effort.

Phillips, who is taking on Biden in the Democratic primary, noted that both the president, 81, and Trump, 77, would be well into their 80s by the end of their term if elected. Phillips further pointed to the numerous polls showing significant concerns about both men among the public, adding, “They don’t want either in the White House.”

“There’s this immense appetite for change,” Phillips explained. “A substantial desire to turn the page and what I call the exhausted majority’s frustration with the arguing, and the dysfunction, and the nonsense, and seeking somebody who has not been part of it, is not causing it, and they want someone new.”

In October, Phillips, a Minnesota representative not well-known nationally, launched his long-shot bid against Biden. He said his pathway to the nomination goes straight through New Hampshire, where he has been focusing his effort. Biden did not file for the state’s primary, as the Democratic Party decided to make the South Carolina primary the first in the nation.

Instead, Biden’s campaign is coordinating a write-in effort in the Granite State to ensure he still wins the matchup.

While Phillips is polling at 4% nationally compared to Marianne Williamson’s 8% and Biden’s 65%, he is making a dent in New Hampshire considering his low name recognition and young campaign.

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In a primary poll last month by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, Phillips had already garnered 10% in the short time after launching his White House bid. He was able to surpass Williamson with 9%, who had been campaigning for months. Biden’s support, which was at 78% in September, slid to 65%.

Phillips has been vocal in his critique of the Democratic National Committee for not holding primary debates, although Biden is the incumbent president, who does not traditionally take part in primary debates when running for reelection. The 54-year-old has even been entertaining the idea of participating in non-DNC-affiliated debates hosted by a major network, which he said has reached out to him. He did not specify which networks, however, and none of the major networks provided comments.