With all eyes on Donald Trump, the favorite to win the Republican primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday, President Joe Biden has decided to leave the state, putting his campaign under the radar at the risk of a false start.
After the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire traditionally opens primary elections dedicated to nominating the two candidates who will face each other for the White House next November.
But this time, the incumbent’s name will not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary, due to disagreements over the election calendar.
At the proponents’ initiative, however, voters will still write their name on the ballot. Counting these votes, Joe Biden thus risks coming in third place behind two other candidates in this northeastern state: Democratic entrepreneur Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson, author of books on personal development.
If Biden takes the state “for granted (…) that he should campaign in New Hampshire, he should present himself in front of the voters,” Mr. Phillips confronted during a recent debate with Ms. Williamson, which Mr. Biden did. Not participating.
“He should be on the ballot in New Hampshire for heaven’s sake. He’s the president,” he added.
During the primaries in 2020, Joe Biden lost largely in this overwhelmingly white state and was subsequently saved by the strong support of African-Americans in the state of South Carolina.
– Holy Cow –
Once elected, he asked the Democratic Party leadership to place South Carolina on the calendar ahead of New Hampshire and Iowa, to benefit from good early momentum. But New Hampshire, controlled by Republicans and for whom the first state to open primaries is a sacred cow, steadfastly refused.
Local activists, disappointed and upset that Joe Biden did not participate in the vote, decided to let his supporters know that they could still put his name on the ballot.
On Saturday, around twenty of them braved the winter cold in Manchester, the state’s largest city, displaying signs that read: “Ask me if I can write Joe Biden”.
Candidate and Congressman Dean Phillips came out to offer him coffee.
“We’re all disappointed that (Biden) isn’t on the ballot,” said Kathy Sullivan, 69, a retired lawyer from Manchester.
“But we’re putting that aside because what really matters is if Biden beats Donald Trump in November.”
Dan Seferian, a 62-year-old retiree who came from Reading (Massachusetts) with his wife Colleen, criticized Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips for not supporting Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.
“I think they need to support the party and the outgoing president. Phillips is a young man. He can run in 2028. He should have waited his turn,” he told AFP.
– depression –
Some donors who support the president fear that putting Biden’s name on the ballot would give him an unnecessary defeat, prompting observers to question how many votes were cast.
Thus the vote can still be analyzed as a measure of the president’s popularity, when the result would otherwise have been simply ignored.
Democratic incumbents seeking re-election typically receive about 80% of the vote in New Hampshire primaries, and party strategists estimate that Joe Biden needs about 60% to avoid humiliation.
“A win is a win, and I think we can get it,” New Hampshire Rep. said Donna Soucy, a campaign co-chair.
“We worked very hard on this (write-in Biden) effort across the state, and I think that’s a testament to the enthusiasm that voters today — those of us out here in the cold — have for President Joe Biden.”
She acknowledged frustration over Biden’s non-participation, but placed the blame on party officials in Washington rather than the president.
“It’s a little more complicated to express our support in this election, but we’ll do it anyway because we’re dedicated to our president,” she said.
Published at 8:32 pm on January 21, AFP
