President Joe Biden will not be on the primary ballot in New Hampshire, and on Monday top Democrats in the Granite State launched a “write-in” campaign as an effort to prevent the commander-in-chief from suffering an embarrassment by not being part of the first primary state.
The move comes after Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota announced last week in Concord that he would challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination.
Biden declined to place his name on the state’s primary ballot after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) revamped the 2024 nominating calendar, a schedule first suggested by the president late last year from its century-old leadoff position. The DNC has pledged to discipline candidates who compete in unsanctioned primaries including the one to be held in New Hampshire.
This Was the DNC Plan?
As previously reported, the DNC had released a plan earlier this year that would make South Carolina the first presidential primary voting state following Biden’s recommendation, overtaking Iowa and New Hampshire – as the latter has been viewed as unrepresentative of the party as a whole, with few major urban areas.
New Hampshire law requires the state to hold its primary before any similar contest, and Republicans who control state government and the secretary of state who sets the primary date refused to bend to the DNC, Politico.com reported.
It is widely expected that New Hampshire will hold its “unsanctioned” primary.
Philips, as well as self-help guru and author Marianne Williamson, will be on the ballot and will likely campaign heavily to get media attention.
Write In So Voters Don’t Write Off Joe Biden
The grassroots write-in campaign is being led by veteran Democratic operatives and politicians, including Jim Demers and Kathy Sullivan, a former state Democratic Party chair.
It has the backing of several high-profile New Hampshire Democrats, including every Democratic state senator, both of the Democrats currently running for governor and former Reps. Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter.
The group filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission under the name “Granite State Write-In.”
However, to avoid the ire of the DNC, neither the Biden campaign nor the state Democratic Party are involved in the effort. Moreover, the website for Granite State Write-in doesn’t list the members of the state’s all-Democratic federal delegation, which includes Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas, and Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen.
Kuster has said on social media that she supports the effort.
“The fate of our democracy itself hangs in the balance in the 2024 election. That starts with supporting Joe Biden in New Hampshire’s 2024 First in the Nation primary,” the group’s website noted.
Help Wanted With the Ballots
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan told reporters last week that he is recommending local election officials bring in additional help to process a potentially large number of write-ins.
“It’s going to be some extra work,” Scanlan told reporters at Saint Anselm College recently. “But I fully expect the towns are going to be able to get the volunteers and resources they need to help.”
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
