Minnesota congressmen Dean Phillips, Tom Emmer enter national spotlight
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Congressman Tom Emmer is one of nine House Members running for speaker.
Emmer has former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's backing, but he reportedly does not have the support of former President Donald Trump.
In 2020, as head of the Republican National Congressional Committee, Emmer campaigned across the country for Republican candidates.
Humphrey School Professor Larry Jacobs says Republicans are running out of major candidates, and Emmer may be the best fit to unite the caucus.
"The choice for Donald Trump is getting narrower," Jacobs said. "Would he rather work with someone like Tom Emmer, who may be on the defensive and looking to be in Donald Trump's good graces or someone he may not even have much of a relationship with?"
House Republicans are expected to hold a secret ballot for speaker tomorrow. Anyone they choose will also need to go before a vote of the full U.S. House.
As for Congressman Dean Phillips, a source says he is moving forward with a longshot presidential bid against President Joe Biden.
Phillips is relying on numerous polls that show a majority of Americans feel Biden, at nearly 81 years old, is too old to run.
Phillips is expected to announce his candidacy Friday in front of the New Hampshire State Capitol in Concord. But among colleagues and political analysts, his bid is considered beyond a long shot.
"I don't think Dean Phillips would get much of a bounce if he were to do well in New Hampshire after the party is going to be cold-shouldering him," Jacobs said.
In a highly unusual situation, the date of the New Hampshire primary has not been set yet because of an intraparty dispute over more diverse states' primaries and caucuses going first. So, there is a possible scenario that could see New Hampshire Democrats moving up their primary to late January, which could result in Biden having to run a write-in campaign.
