WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has decided not to file for the 2024 New Hampshire Democratic primary ballot, according to his reelection campaign. This choice comes as the state plans to hold the primary in defiance of a revised primary order advocated by the White House.
In a letter to New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair , Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, explained that the president “wishes to participate in the primary, but he must comply” with party regulations.
Rodriguez stated, “The president anticipates having his name on New Hampshire’s general election ballot as the chosen candidate of the Democratic Party. He will campaign relentlessly to secure every vote in the Granite State next November after officially receiving the nomination at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.”
Last year, Biden urged the Democratic National Committee to change the order of the 2024 primary, replacing Iowa’s caucus with the South Carolina primary to give more influence to Black and other minority voters who are crucial to the party’s base. In February, the DNC approved a new 2024 calendar, starting with South Carolina’s primary on February 3, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada three days later.
However, New Hampshire has rejected the plan, arguing that it traditionally hosts the nation’s first primary, unlike Iowa, which has caucuses. Prominent New Hampshire Democrats assert that state law mandates holding the country’s initial primary, and they have pledged to hold one before South Carolina regardless of the DNC’s stance.
The DNC has cautioned that such action would result in an unsanctioned primary, potentially leading to penalties such as New Hampshire losing delegates to the 2024 Democratic convention in Chicago. Nevertheless, during an unsanctioned primary, New Hampshire voters will still be able to write in Biden’s name, and some prominent Democrats in the state have organized a campaign to encourage write-in support for the president.
New Hampshire has not yet announced an official date for its 2024 primary. Nevertheless, in response to Rodriguez’s letter, Buckley issued a statement declaring, “The fact is that Joe Biden will win the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary in January, secure renomination in Chicago, and be re-elected next November.”
Biden follows in the footsteps of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, who chose not to file for the state’s primary and still won through write-in votes. However, the strong second-place finish of Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy in New Hampshire prompted Johnson to announce his decision not to seek re-election just weeks later.
