Key Takeaways:
- President Biden won’t be listed on the New Hampshire Primary Ballot.
- The state of New Hampshire intends to hold its Democratic primary election ahead of the other 49 states, going against the DNC’s recommendation that South Carolina be held first.
In defiance of a century-old custom, President Joe Biden will not be listed on the New Hampshire presidential primary ballot. The action was taken to comply with a directive issued by the Democratic National Committee.
Contrary to the DNC’s advice to allow South Carolina to hold its primary election first, New Hampshire intends to hold its Democratic primary election before the other 49 states—a strategy that Biden himself suggested. Biden will also be going against the DNC if he files to run in the New Hampshire primary.
“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,” Biden for President campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez writes in a letter to the state’s Democratic Party that was obtained by outlets including NBC News.
However, Biden’s name will appear on the November general election ballot in New Hampshire, Rodriguez noted in the letter.
According to NBC News, Rodriguez wrote, “The president looks forward to having his name on New Hampshire’s general election ballot as the Democratic Party nominee 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 in November.”
This is in accordance with New Hampshire law and the Secretary of State’s directives. Though Democrats have criticised New Hampshire and Iowa as not being diverse enough to be representative of the public as a whole, those states are customarily the first to vote in presidential primaries.
The Democratic National Committee declared in February that Nevada will be the second state to host a presidential primary in 2024, after South Carolina.
