Phillips challenges in 3rd

In a district where Hillary Clinton won by a 10 percent margin over President Donald Trump, Republican Representative Erik Paulsen (MN-3) has held his seat in congress for five consecutive terms.

However, on May 8, 2017 Minnesota businessman and DFLer Dean Phillips, 48, announced his intention to challenge Paulsen for his seat in the 2018 mid term election.

“As a father, a sixth-generation Minnesotan, and business owner, I’m concerned about the direction in which our country is headed and the people to whom we’ve entrusted leadership,” Phillips said in a press release. “I can no longer sit on the sidelines. I believe America’s best days are ahead.”

A prominent member of the community, Phillips previously served as the chairman of Talenti Gelato, and is currently founder and chairman of Penny’s Coffee.

He is also heavily involved in philanthropic work. Phillips Co-Chairs WE Day Minnesota, the Phillips Family Foundation, and is on the advisory council of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

While Phillips is proud of his extensive business experience, he encourages the shedding of labels, and believes there are important distinctions to be draw between himself and Donald Trump, another prominent businessman.

“I think shedding label is important, and that means businessman, that means republican, that means democrat. We need to judge individuals based on their values and their principles and their character, and I believe that is a great distinction between the President and me,” Phillips said in a phone interview.

The Minnesota DFL party has had difficulty running a successful campaign against Paulsen in the past, who has beat his democratic challengers by impressive numbers each time his seat was contested.

CD3 encompasses much of the Western Hennepin County suburbs, including the city of Minnetonka and HHS. The district also has the highest median household income in the state, is comparatively well educated, and consistently has a voter turnout far surpassing the national average.  

In the 2012 general election, the number of residents who voted in CD3 exceeded 80 percent.

The voting record of the Minnesota Third, however, is one of contradiction. Despite the high median household income, $80,000, the district doesn’t consistently vote Republican in general elections.

In the 2016 presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won by a 10 percent margin over President Donald Trump. In both 2012 and 2008, Obama again took CD3 with a significantly smaller margin.

Down ballot, the district is a Republican stronghold. Paulsen beat Terri Bonoff, his most recent opponent in the 2016 election with 56.7 percent to her 43 percent.

The Royal Page reached out to Paulsen’s office for comment, but has not received a response.

The DFL hasn’t endorsed a candidate yet, and the endorsement process won’t begin until February of next year. Currently, it is a two way race for the endorsement, and the party views Phillips as an impressive candidate who could mount an effective challenge come November of 2018.

“Mr. Phillips is an excellent candidate and very knowledgeable about issues of importance to those in CD3.  Sitting down and speaking with him is quite informing of his passion for serving others and his desire to make our state a better place for all to live,” said Cheryl Poling, chair of the Congressional District 3 for the DFL. “He understands that to serve others you actually meet with and speak to others.”

In conjunction with voter outreach, Phillips considers health care one of the central issues he intends to focus on during his campaign, but is also passionate about campaign finance reform, informed by his business history, and education.

While those issues are important to Phillips, the most important thing Phillips hopes to achieve with his run, second to a seat in the United States House of Representatives, is widespread participation defying party, gender, and age lines.

“I believe the second greatest challenge we face in our democracy is the lack of engagement, and I am thrilled by the number of students who are now engaging,” Phillips said. “While the current times are quite troubling to many of us, I believe one legacy of this strange era is going to be that people will start paying attention, and that begins with students. I’m thrilled, and excited, and I believe that your generation is going to start to effect great change that our country very much needs.”