‘Everyone is upset’: Joe Biden skips New Hampshire Democratic primaries

Joe Biden risks a false start. While all eyes are on Donald Trump, the favorite to win Tuesday’s Republican primary in New Hampshire, the US president has decided to skip the state, leaving his campaign in the dust. In New Hampshire, primaries traditionally begin to determine the two candidates who will compete for the White House. But this time the incumbent’s name will not appear on the Democratic primary ballot due to disagreements over the election calendar.

However, at the initiative of his supporters, voters will still write his name on the ballot. With those votes counted, Joe Biden is now in danger of finishing third in the northeastern state behind two other candidates: Democrat Dean Phillips and personal development author Marianne Williamson.

Joe Biden is taking the state “for granted (…) He has to campaign in New Hampshire, he has to get in front of the voters,” Mr. Phillips said during a recent debate with Ms. Williamson, something Mr. Biden did not this. do not participate. “For God’s sake, he should be on the ballot in New Hampshire.” He is the president,” he added. Joe Biden lost significantly in the predominantly white state during the 2020 primaries, but was then rescued by strong African-American support in South Carolina.

“Everyone is upset”

After his election, he asked Democratic leadership to put South Carolina ahead of New Hampshire and Iowa on the calendar to benefit from better initial momentum. But New Hampshire, controlled by Republicans and for which being the first state to open a primary is a sacred cow, flatly refused. Local activists, although disappointed and annoyed that Joe Biden did not participate in the vote, decided to let their supporters know that they could still put his name on the ballot.

On Saturday, about 20 of them braved the winter cold in Manchester, the state capital, singing and carrying signs that read: “Ask me if I can write to Joe Biden.” Candidate and Congressman Dean Phillips came out to offer them coffee. “We’re all disappointed that (Biden) isn’t on the ballot,” said Katie Sullivan, 69, a retired Manchester lawyer. “But we’re putting that aside because it’s very important that Joe Biden beats Donald Trump in November. »

Dan Seferian, 62, a retiree visiting 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 should support the party and the outgoing president. Phillips is a young man. He could run in 2028. He should have waited his turn,” he said.

60% votes to avoid humiliation

Some donors supporting the president fear putting Joe Biden’s name on the ballot would hand him an unnecessary defeat, prompting observers to question how many votes were received. In this way, the vote could still be analyzed as a measure of the president’s popularity, when otherwise the result could simply be ignored.

Democratic presidents seeking re-election typically receive about 80% of the vote in New Hampshire primaries, and party strategists have estimated that Joe Biden will need to win about 60% of the vote to avoid humiliation. “A win is a win, and I think we can get it,” said New Hampshire Rep. Donna Soucy, co-chair of the campaign.

“We’ve been working very hard on this effort (to spell Biden’s name) across the state, and I think the voters today – those of us out here in the cold – are proof of the enthusiasm for President Joe Biden. » She acknowledged disappointment over Biden’s non-participation but placed the blame on party officials in Washington rather than the president himself. “It’s a little harder to show our support in this election, but we’ll do it anyway because we’re committed to our president,” she said.