The Democratic Party upended roughly a century of tradition this year by stripping New Hampshire of its "first in the nation" primary election status in favor of South Carolina for overtly racial reasons, given that New Hampshire is overwhelmingly white with few minorities while South Carolina has a substantial population of black voters.
In alignment with that disputed move, it was revealed on Tuesday that President Joe Biden will forgo registering to appear on New Hampshire's primary ballot in early 2024, according to Politico.
Biden's move stems from the fact that the Democratic National Committee has threatened to punish any Democratic candidates who appear on New Hampshire's "unsanctioned" primary ballot, as the Granite State has defied the DNC and vowed to maintain tradition by holding the first primary election in the nation, even at the risk of being stripped of its delegates at the Democratic National Convention next summer.
According to Fox News, President Biden's decision to not appear on New Hampshire's primary ballot was announced in a letter sent by Biden's 2024 campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez to New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley.
"While the president wishes to participate in the Primary, he is obligated as a Democratic candidate for President to comply with the Delegate Selection Rules for the 2024 Democratic National Convention promulgated by the Democratic National Committee," Rodriguez wrote.
"In accordance with this guidance, Biden for President will refrain from submitting a Declaration of Candidacy for the Primary ahead of Friday’s candidate filing deadline for the Primary," she continued.
According to the Associated Press, Rodriguez added, "The 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."
Per the AP, it was President Biden himself who urged the DNC to abandon a century of tradition and oust New Hampshire from its first-in-the-nation primary status in favor of South Carolina, almost certainly as a reward for the Palmetto State being the place where Biden secured the 2020 Democratic nomination.
That caused a big problem, though, in that New Hampshire state law requires that it hold the first primary election, and the Republican-controlled legislature and Republican governor refused to alter that statutory mandate and remained insistent that they would continue to hold the first primary election in the 2024 cycle, despite the risk of additional sanctions by the DNC against the state and any candidates who run, according to Fox News.
In fact, while the DNC's primary schedule would have the Granite State hold its primary election a few days after South Carolina in early February, New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan recently informed the media that he will likely schedule the primary election for late January.
Should that occur, it is expected that the DNC could strip New Hampshire of at least half of its delegates at next summer's convention as well as the denial of any delegates to any Democratic candidate who formally participates in the unsanctioned primary election.
While President Biden will not officially appear as a candidate on New Hampshire's primary ballot next year, it has been widely reported that Democratic leaders in the state plan to launch a massive write-in campaign on the president's behalf, setting up the likelihood that he will still win that contest even without actually running.
Indeed, state party chair Buckley, in a public response to the letter received from the Biden campaign, appeared confident that Biden would ultimately prevail and easily win the state both in the primary and general elections.
"The reality is that Joe Biden will win the NH FITN Primary in January, win renomination in Chicago and will be re-elected next November. NH voters know and trust Joe Biden that’s why he is leading Trump in NH by double digits," Buckley said.
