Who is Dean Phillips?

(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips is challenging Biden in the Democratic primary, and New Hampshire represents his top opportunity.

"I am excited to announce my candidacy for president in 2024. It’s time to put our country back together again – and use our differences to make us stronger. It’s time to repair America," Phillips said in a launch video posted on social media in late October.

He officially declared his bid for president in New Hampshire the following day.

Phillips is a millionaire businessman and co-founder of a gelato company turned three-term member of Congress. He was just six months old when his father, Artie Pfefer, was killed in action in the Vietnam War in 1969.

In 1972, Phillips mother married Eddie Phillips, and Dean Phillips became an adopted heir of Phillips Distilling Company, the family business known for producing the country's first brand of schnapps. After the passing of his adoptive father, Phillips left the family distilling company to join a small gelato business in which his father had invested. 

As a first-time politician, Phillips defeated six-term Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen in 2018 during a blue wave election in which the Democrats won back the House majority.