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CNN host Jake Tapper issued a warning of sorts to President Joe Biden following a decision over the weekend by the Democratic National Convention to move the party’s first-in-the-nation primary from Iowa and to South Carolina for reasons of race.
“The Democratic Party on Saturday approved the reordering of its 2024 presidential primary, replacing Iowa with South Carolina in the leadoff spot as part of a major shake-up meant to empower black and other minority voters critical to its base of support,” ABC News reported.
“Although changes are still possible throughout the summer and beyond, the formal endorsement by the Democratic National Committee during its meeting in Philadelphia is an acknowledgement that the start of the 2024 primary will look very different from the one in 2020,” the report continued.
“States with early contests have a major influence in determining the nominee because White House hopefuls struggling to raise money or gain political traction often drop out before visiting states outside the first five. The new plan has been championed by President Joe Biden, who is expected to formally announce his reelection campaign in the coming months,” the report added.
If the plan holds, South Carolina will hold its primary vote on Feb. 3. Three days later, New Hampshire and Nevada will hold theirs, “swapping the caucus it used to hold in favor of a primary.” Then comes Georgia’s primary on Feb. 13, followed by Michigan on Feb. 27, with most of the rest of the country holding primaries on Super Tuesday in early March.
During his Saturday show, Tapper played a clip of DNC delegate Steve Shurtleff, who said he won’t be backing Biden of the party replaces New Hampshire in the primary process.
“If people think that it’s cold in New Hampshire right now, wait until Joe Biden goes there after he’s gotten rid of them as the first-in-the-nation primary,” Tapper noted, playing a video clip of Shurtleff, who is a former New Hampshire House speaker, declaring he won’t support Biden if the changes go through.
“I’ll look for another candidate before I support Joe Biden if he should go so far as to take away the first-in-the-nation primary from the Granite State,” he said.
“That’s a Biden delegate,” Tapper warned ominously.
CNN Analyst Leigh Ann Caldwell said: “Two New Hampshire senators didn’t go to a party at the White House because they were so mad at President Biden about this. People in New Hampshire, politicos are saying it is going jeopardize him winning the general election in 2024 should he run again. New Hampshire’s taking this very, very personally.”
Speaking of Biden’s potential reelection bid, recent surveys have shown that most Americans don’t want him to run again due to his advanced age, mostly.
According to the results of a CNBC All-America Economic Survey in December, a majority of respondents do not want Biden to run again in 2024.
“The survey found 61% of the public think Trump should not seek the presidency, compared with 30% who believe he should. And 70% say Biden should not run for a second term with just 19% supporting a run,” CNBC reported, citing the survey’s results.
“Substantial numbers in each politicians’ own party prefer their names not be on the ballot, including 37% of Republicans who don’t want Trump to run along with 61% of independents and 88% of Democrats,” the report continued. “For Biden, 57% of Democrats say he shouldn’t stand for office in 2024 along with 66% of independents and 86% of Republicans.”
The report provided additional insights gleaned from the survey.
Biden has other problems other than age. Despite a stronger-than-expected showing by Democrats in the congressional elections and several legislative victories, Biden’s overall approval slipped to 41% from 46% in the October survey, with his disapproval rising to 54% from 50%. The President’s economic approval slipped to 38% from 40% and disapproval rose a point to 57%.
Just 20% of the public think the Biden administration’s efforts to ease inflation are helping, a five-point decline from October; 28% believe they are hurting, a two-point decline, and 49% say they’re not making much difference, a 7-point jump.
