(Manchester) While all eyes are on Donald Trump, favorite to win the Republican primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday, President Joe Biden has decided to skip this state, putting his campaign under the radar, at the risk of a false start.
After the Iowa caucus, New Hampshire traditionally kicks off the primaries dedicated to nominating the two candidates who will face each other for the White House next November.
But this time, the name of the current president will not appear on the ballots in the Democratic primary, due to disagreements over this electoral calendar.
At the initiative of supporters, however, voters will still write his name in the ballot. By counting these votes, Joe Biden thus takes the risk of coming third in this northeastern state, behind two other candidates: the Democratic entrepreneur Dean Phillips and the writer Marianne Williamson, author of books on personal development.
PHOTO KRISTOPHER RADDER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Writer and Democratic primary candidate Marianne Williamson
Joe Biden considers the State “for granted […] He should campaign in New Hampshire, he should get in front of the voters,” Mr. Phillips tackled during a recent debate with Mr.me Williamson, which Mr. Biden did not attend.
He should be on the ballot in New Hampshire, for heaven’s sake. It’s the president.
Dean Phillips, Democratic Representative and primary candidate
During the primaries in 2020, Joe Biden lost significantly in this overwhelmingly white state and was then saved by the strong support of African-Americans in the state of South Carolina.
sacred cow
Once elected, he asked the leadership of the Democratic Party to place South Carolina before New Hampshire and Iowa in the calendar, to benefit from better initial dynamics. But New Hampshire, controlled by Republicans and for whom being the first state to launch primaries is a sacred cow, steadfastly refused.
Local activists, although disappointed and annoyed that Joe Biden did not participate in the vote, decided to let his supporters know that they could still put his name on the ballots themselves.
On Saturday, around 20 of them braved the winter cold in Manchester, the state’s largest city, brandishing signs: “Ask me if I can spell Joe Biden.”
Candidate and Congressman Dean Phillips came out to offer them coffee.
PHOTO FAITH NINIVAGGI, REUTERS
Democratic Representative and primary candidate Dean Phillips
“We are all frustrated that [Biden] not be on the ballot,” said Kathy Sullivan, 69, a retired Manchester lawyer.
“But we’re putting that aside because it’s really important that Joe Biden beats Donald Trump in November. »
Dan Seferian, a 62-year-old retiree who came 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 need to support the party and the outgoing president. Phillips is a young man. He could run in 2028. He should have waited his turn,” he told AFP.
Frustration
Some donors supporting the president fear that putting Joe Biden’s name on the ballot would hand him an unnecessary defeat, prompting observers to question how many votes were obtained.
The vote could thus still be analyzed as a measure of the president’s popularity, whereas the result could otherwise have simply been ignored.
Democratic presidents seeking re-election typically get about 80% of the vote in New Hampshire primaries, and party strategists estimate that Joe Biden needs to get 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, a campaign co-chair.
“We worked very hard on this effort [d’écrire le nom de Biden] across the state, and I think the voters today — those of us who are out here in the cold — are proof of the enthusiasm for President Joe Biden. »
She acknowledged frustration over Biden’s non-participation, but placed blame on party officials in Washington, rather than the president himself.
“It’s a little more complicated to express our support in this election, but we’re going to do it anyway because we are dedicated to our president,” she said.