Jeff Weaver is considered the closest political operative to Bernie Sanders and manager of the 2016 campaign that brought the self-styled socialist from Vermont to the periphery of the Democratic presidential nomination.
Now Weaver, 57, is senior adviser to Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., in his long shot challenge to Joe Biden's denominations.
"I think he's going to surprise tonight," said Weaver, who Newsmax ran into on storied Elm Street in downtown in Manchester, New Hampshire on Tuesday afternoon.
Weaver believes that the issues Phillips has raised during the first-in-the-nation primary will propel him far above the low double digits predicted by most of the national media. Specifically, he cited, "People are very concerned about affordability, the high cost of health care, the high cost of education. They are sick about all the partisan wrangling and name-calling. The people of New Hampshire just want common-sense and that's what Dean Phillips is.
But Weaver stopped short of calling Phillips "the lineal heir" to his hero Sanders, on whose campaigns Weaver has worked on or run since 1990.
In his words, "I wouldn't say he's the lineal heir. But I would say this: he's an independent thinker for sure. People who care about Medicare and tuition free college know that's in his platform."
Pressed as to whether he felt Phillips would repeat the 42% reached by Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy against President Lyndon Johnson — then, like Biden today — a write-in candidate in New Hampshire —Weaver remonstrated: "We'll see."
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