Washington — Is a New Hampshire primary with no leader and no delegates still a primary? Who you ask matters. After the Republican Iowa caucuses on Monday, Granite State voters will again kick off the presidential primary season on Tuesday. On the Democratic side, the first-in-the-nation primary is different this year.
First, the Democratic National Committee, which chooses its presidential nominee, claims state party officials broke party rules by scheduling their contest early. No delegates will be at stake in Tuesday's primary. The race would normally have distributed the state's 23 committed delegates to the presidential nominating convention in Chicago this summer to the contenders.
President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term, skipped New Hampshire since their primary breaches party rules and will not be on the ballot. Biden's plan to move the state's primary date to South Carolina revived his 2020 campaign. Biden finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses and fifth in New Hampshire with 8% of the vote.
The New Hampshire Democratic Party is proceeding with the primary, which state law mandates to be held before any other primary, and has begun picking national convention delegates. The DNC slammed the primary as “meaningless” and “detrimental.”
Ray Buckley, state Democratic party chairman, responded, “Well, it's safe to say in New Hampshire, the DNC is less popular than the NY Yankees. The New Hampshire Secretary of State will hold the first-in-the-nation primary as required by law. Nothing has changed, and we expect a big Democratic turnout on January 23rd.”
Some New Hampshire Democrats are encouraging primary voters to write-in Biden, even though his name won't be on the ballot. Write-in candidates can win in New Hampshire. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson won the New Hampshire primary as a write-in candidate, but he pulled out 19 days later after a dismal 8-point triumph against Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy.
Write-in votes made up 2% of the 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary, or 6,000 votes. A large-scale write-in attempt would increase local elections officials' workload, but New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan expects primary night results, including Biden's write-in votes.
“It sounds like a big job, but you have to remember, it is one race where it is ‘vote for one,’ and it’s fairly easy to sort through the ballots,” he told reporters in October. “It will require more work. I doubt it will be that strong.”