President Biden has set himself up for embarrassment in New Hampshire's Democratic primary on Tuesday by taking his name off the ballot, in a dramatic snub to the state's mostly white population.
It all goes back to Biden's controversial decision to wrest from New Hampshire voters their traditional first-primary status.
It's a story that pits regional pride against raw political ambition.
The state's residents take great pride in being first in the nation to hold a primary, but Biden - in a bit of unsavory racial politics - decided South Carolina should go first.
Biden's 2020 primary bid was flatlined before South Carolina's mostly black Democratic primary voters came to the rescue - as Biden received the secret blessing of party elites scheming behind the scenes to consolidate support for him.
And so, Biden decided that New Hampshire's primary should fall on February 6, three days after South Carolina starts things off.
"Too often over the past fifty years, candidates have dropped out or had their candidacies marginalized by the press and pundits because of poor performances in small states early in the process before voters of color cast a vote," he said.
With New Hampshire forging ahead with its primary as planned on Tuesday, Biden will not appear on the ballot, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has no plans to recognize the state's delegates at the convention.
Although Biden orchestrated the calendar switch, he told New Hampshire Democrats that his decision to abstain from the state's ballot was forced by the Democratic National Committee.
“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,” his campaign said.
While Biden won't be on the ballot, Democrats are organizing a write-in effort to avoid any bad publicity, with doubts already crowding around Biden's embattled re-election bid.
Biden is facing longshot primary challenges from Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson.
On the Republican side, New Hampshire's primary has become a two-way between President Trump and Nikki Haley, after Ron DeSantis ended his campaign Sunday.
While Trump appears poised to win the primary, he is facing criminal prosecution and an effort to have him removed from the ballot in different states. The Supreme Court is expected to weigh the ballot controversy next month.
