Oct. 24 (UPI) — President Joe Biden plans to skip the 2024 primary ballot in New Hampshire, which will make him the first sitting president in history to bypass a primary ballot of his party.
Biden’s 2024 campaign told New Hampshire Democrats on Tuesday that the president wants to comply with the Democratic National Committee’s new efforts to make South Carolina the first official contest of the election year.
New Hampshire’s presidential candidate filing deadline is this Friday.
“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 wrote in a letter.
While New Hampshire law requires the state to hold the United States’ first primary in an election year, guidance sent out Tuesday by the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee — which were proposed by Biden — makes South Carolina the first state to hold a primary that awards delegates.
“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,” Rodriguez said.
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan, who has yet to choose the date of next year’s primary, said Tuesday, “I think it’s a mistake that he’s not putting his name on the ballot.”
“It’s a small state geographically. It has a small media market compared to other states in the country, especially the large ones. We are a purple state politically,” Scanlan said. “We have regular high voter participation. And it is very easy for any United States citizen who qualifies to run for president to actually try and make it happen.”
In 2020, Biden came in fifth place in New Hampshire. He won South Carolina, which provided him the momentum to win the Democratic nomination.
