Even as the Democratic National Committee has reportedly moved behind the scenes to protect President Joe Biden from serious primary challengers, the party was apparently powerless to stop a key early primary state from removing his name from the ballot.
USA Today reported on Wednesday: “It’s a rite of passage for presidential candidates. But this time, President Joe Biden’s name won’t be on the New Hampshire ballot.”
“Biden has been tussling with the state for nearly a year over its historically early primary date and will not make the trip to Concord to file this week,” the outlet continued.
Biden will be breaking from a centuries-old tradition of the incumbent president appearing on the state’s Democratic primary ballot, even as the DNC threatens to discipline any candidates who are listed in “unsanctioned primaries” like the one being planned in New Hampshire.
USA Today adds:
Biden’s reelection campaign notified New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley of the president’s decision on Tuesday evening, citing guidance from the national party that urged campaigns not to place their candidates’ names on the ballot.
“Biden for President will refrain from submitting a Declaration of Candidacy for the Primary ahead of Friday’s candidate filing deadline for the Primary,” a letter obtained by the news outlet stated. “[T]he president looks forward to having his name on New Hampshire’s general election ballot as the nominee of the Democratic Party after officially securing the nomination at the 2024 Democratic National Convention where he will tirelessly campaign to earn every single vote in the Granite State next November.”
Meantime, most other presidential contenders have been making trips to the state for the past two weeks in order to file paperwork to compete in the primary there, which will be held early next year.
The tiff with New Hampshire actually began last year when Biden proposed that the early primary be moved to South Carolina in a bid to appease the party’s black voting bloc.
“Biden told members of the Democratic National Committee who were tasked with making the decision that New Hampshire and Nevada should share the date of the second primary election. He also advised them to demote Iowa, which has traditionally held the first caucus, and give Georgia and Michigan more influential contest dates,” USA Today reported. “In a December letter outlining his decision, Biden said the changes to the Democratic schedule were necessary to empower voters of color and encourage candidates to invest in battleground states earlier. The party did what Biden asked, and earlier this year, the DNC voted to affirm the new calendar.”
In addition to Trump, Biden is facing off against former Democrat-turned-Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who changed his party affiliation after he said the DNC was working to sabotage him. But a report last week cited a survey indicating a three-way race benefits former President Donald Trump.
“Trump claimed 39% support in a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, originally published by The Hill. Biden trailed with 33% to Kennedy’s 19%. A further 9% were undecided. Of those, 42% would back Trump if they had to make a decision, 36% would choose Biden, and 22% would opt for Kennedy,” Just the News reported on Friday.
“Kennedy originally announced his campaign as a Democratic challenger to President Joe Biden, but in October dropped that bid in favor of an independent run amid frustrations with the party. The Democratic National Committee chose not to hold primary debates despite the presence of two challengers to Biden: Kennedy and Hollywood author Marianne Williamson,” the outlet reported further.
If Kennedy is removed from the equation, Trump would still be the clear leader, taking a 5 percent lead over Biden, 46-41 percent in the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll. According to RealClearPolitics’ average of polls, Trump is leading Biden by less than 1 percent.
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