President Joe Biden is not on the ballot for New Hampshire’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, but there are signs of him everywhere thanks to his supporters who have mounted a massive write-in campaign on his behalf.
Biden chose not to submit his candidacy after the Democratic National Committee said the state violated its rules by holding its primary before South Carolina’s election, which the party said would be the first in the 2024 primaries.
That means Biden’s name does not appear among the 21 Democrats on the ballot in New Hampshire, including Rep. Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson, both of whom are running strong campaigns in the state.
Democratic State Sen. David Watters and other Biden supporters in the state decided to take matters into their own hands — and possibly spare Biden some embarrassment — by making sure he wins the contest anyway.
“We really needed the people in New Hampshire, who have strong support for Joe Biden, to have a way to express that with a write-in campaign,” Watters told DailyMail.com.
Voters promote the write-in campaign to put President Joe Biden’s name on New Hampshire’s Democratic primary ballot during a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) event in Concord
Melissa Hinebauch of Concord waves at cars as she promotes the write-in campaign to put President Joe Biden’s name on the New Hampshire Democratic Party primary ballot
They have been a busy bunch. They formed a super PAC to raise money for their efforts. They have held rallies and bonfires and waved gestures. They’ve brought in top Democratic names — including Sen. Cory Booker and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries — to rally the faithful to Biden’s side.
The goal: to remind Democrats that Biden can get their vote. Voters simply need to write Joe Biden’s name at the bottom of the ballot and fill in the oval next to that box.
Their efforts will continue through Election Day. And more Biden supporters will be there to help them. Representative Ro Khanna will be in Dover on Sunday to rally the faithful. The state AFL-CIO is using its union power to get the message across.
The supporters were an enthusiastic group who tweeted photos of themselves and friends waving signs that read, “Write in Joe Biden.” The movement even has a hashtag: #writeinBiden!
After all, while Tuesday’s results are non-binding, political forecasters will assess it as a measure of Biden’s support among his own party.
A weak performance — especially against Phillips or Williamson — would be more bad news for the president, who faces a weak approval rating and concerns from many Democrats that, at 81, he is too old to run for office. a new term.
Malikiah Guillory, a 19-year-old volunteer and sophomore at St. Olaf College, stacks yard signs as part of a course he is taking on campaigns and politics in Hooksett, N.H.
Curtis Register and his dog, Lord Remington of Durham, promote Biden’s write-in campaign in Concord, NH
President Joe Biden has chosen not to submit his name for the New Hampshire Democratic primary in solidarity with the new party rules
The DNC’s decision to upend tradition and move the first contest of the year to South Carolina, the state that helped Joe Biden win the presidential nomination in 2020, has sparked anger among party officials in the state.
“It’s safe to say the DNC is less popular in New Hampshire than the New York Yankees,” said Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley.
But New Hampshire scheduled its primary first anyway, noting that it has a state law that requires it to maintain first-in-the-nation status.
As a result, the DNC declared that none of the delegates elected Tuesday will count toward a candidate receiving the party nomination.
It was Biden who expressed support for advancing to South Carolina, which gave him his first primary victory in the 2020 process. That year, Biden came fifth in New Hampshire with just 8 percent of the vote.
Even though some hard feelings remain, many Democrats in New Hampshire want Biden to do well in their state.
“Democracy is under threat and I think people can really look at the state, both on the Republican side and the Democratic side, and say we did the country a service by having a primary,” Watters said.
“For the Democrats, it really means something that they can write in Joe Biden. That we are trying to do this for the president, which is still possible in our country, that people are ordinary people coming together and casting their votes.”
Some voters expressed concern that a massive write-in campaign could delay vote counting and ultimately the final results.
Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips campaigns in Manchester, NH, with former presidential candidate Andrew Yang
Marianne Williamson has also campaigned hard in New Hampshire
But Secretary of State David Scanlan, whose office oversees the election, told a panel at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College on Wednesday that he does not expect the results to be significantly delayed because of the expected write-in votes.
“Traditional aid has expanded in most places, so I don’t think it will last that long,” he said.