Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu pledged that his state will hold the nation’s first primary “no matter what.” That even includes the possibility of leaving the incumbent president off the primary ballot if Biden were to choose to “not file for election in the New Hampshire primary.”
His radical vow came prior to the Democratic National Committee on Saturday making their highly controversial move to supplant the state as the first in the nation to hold its presidential primary.
NH Gov (R) Gov. Chris Sununu said “We’re going first no matter what” and, according to Buckley, if Biden doesn’t like it he “will not file for election in the New Hampshire primary, which will still go first.” If Biden is candidate he may not be on ballot. https://t.co/WLRJoQ1VwC
— ❥❥❥ᗰoᒪᒪie❥❥❥ (@mollie_don) February 5, 2023
The party is attempting to put more power in the hands of non-White voters.
Having the sitting president not listed as a choice in the hotly contested swing state’s primary would be a risky outcome. However, it’s the Democrats who chose to blatantly ignore tradition and a half-century of precedent in making their decision.
And New Hampshire Democrats are up in arms over the change.
State party chairman Ray Buckley described the unilateral move as “mind-boggling.” He argued that it clearly works against Democrats’ prospects of winning the battleground state in 2024.
But for Democratic strategists, their motives apparently include giving the incumbent president a better springboard than he enjoyed in 2020.
Biden began the last primary season terribly, tallying fifth in New Hampshire after finishing fourth in the leadoff Iowa caucuses.
South Carolina then became a huge win, and the former vice president rode that wave to his party’s nomination and a victory in the general election.
In this light, it’s easy to recognize at least part of the Democrats’ motivation for shuffling the early primary states. They are saddled with an unpopular incumbent who may desperately need momentum if he is challenged by another from within the party.
However, if peace is not made with their own party colleagues as well as New Hampshire Republicans, the exact opposite effect could happen. If Biden were to ignore the traditional kickoff state and stubbornly not appear on the ballot, the results for Democrats in this swing state may be dire.
The GOP is already utilizing the Democratic infighting to insert a wedge into the state’s electorate. Biden’s party has no one to blame but themselves if their actions produce a Republican winner in 2024.
