Biden seeks unlikely write-in victory in New Hampshire

President Biden's name will not appear on the ballot in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

He is not actively campaigning in the state, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has called the vote “meaningless” in its plans to choose a candidate.

More than a dozen other candidates are expected to appear on the Democratic ballot, including leading primary challengers Marianne Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota.

Still, strategists believe Biden will win on Tuesday thanks to a months-long grassroots write-in campaign.

“Joe Biden is going to win,” said Jim Merrill, a veteran Republican strategist based in New Hampshire. “And I think this is not only a product of Dean Phillips' failure to launch, but also the core of Democratic opinion leaders rallying around Joe Biden.”

A loss or close call in New Hampshire is likely to increase discussion of Democrats' dissatisfaction with Biden being the presumptive nominee. But those involved in the write-in drive believe that Biden's victory, while merely symbolic, would send a message about the president's strength at the start of an election year.

“I think it reflects strong support for the president. I think people recognize that our democracy is at stake. Especially in New Hampshire, our freedoms are at stake. New Hampshire Sen. David Watters (D), who is participating in the write-in effort, said.

“I think people want to send a message,” he added. “This is really meaningful to us. This is the opening salvo of the general election, and we can send the president out of New Hampshire with strong support.”

Last year, the DNC formally approved changes to the primary schedule that eliminated the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary in favor of South Carolina. But New Hampshire law requires the state to take precedence, and the Republican-led Legislature did not accept the DNC's changes.

in Letter of January 5thDNC officials sent a letter to the New Hampshire Democratic Party (NHDP) informing them that no delegates would be selected based on the January 23 primary.

“The NHDP has taken steps to educate the public that January 23 is a non-binding presidential election event and is meaningless, and that the NHDP and presidential candidates should take every step to avoid participating. “We need to take action,” the DNC wrote.

To comply with DNC regulations, Biden and his campaign are not participating in the state's primary election and have not acknowledged any write-in efforts.

Write-in organizers said their goal was simply for Biden to win on Tuesday, arguing that a victory was a success before Biden even appeared on the ballot.

Democrats pointed to a successful write-in campaign in 2010 when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) won the general election with just 39% of the vote. Unlike Biden, Murkowski was directly involved in the campaign's campaign efforts.

Watters said some New Hampshire Democrats began preparing last August for a potential conflict if the Granite State stuck to its law-of-the-nation policy while the DNC made major calendar changes.

Write-in campaign leaders have attended more than 60 Democratic Party committee meetings and state party events over the past few months, explaining why it's important to write Biden's name on January 23rd and how. He talked about what he would do.

Those involved in the effort have held press conferences, interviewed the media and published op-eds urging New Hampshire voters to write for Biden.

Aaron Jacobs, a former staffer to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D.N.H.), said volunteers will be stationed at polling places across the state on Tuesday with QR codes with detailed instructions on how to properly vote. He said he would install “Write Biden” signs with codes. For the president.

“Unlike a typical campaign where you can micromanage things centrally, we don't have that,” Jacobs said. “The biggest part of this is going to events, being on the field and relying on it.” [attendees] It will be a multiplier. ”

Mr. Biden's main challengers, Mr. Williamson and Mr. Phillips, have spent a relatively large amount of time and money meeting with voters in New Hampshire, showing that Mr. Biden has been less active in debates and campaigning. I've been criticizing it.

But polls suggest these long-term efforts are not generating significant momentum heading into Tuesday's vote. Biden aides are quick to point out that Phillips, in particular, stands by the president on nearly every policy issue.

A January 9th University of New Hampshire Poll According to the survey, 69% of likely Democratic primary voters said they planned to vote in Biden's name, 7% planned to vote for Phillips and 6% planned to vote for Williamson. I answered that. The survey similarly found that 67% of likely Democratic primary voters had a favorable view of Biden.

a Suffolk University Poll According to a Jan. 10 announcement, 64% of registered Democrats in the state said they planned to support Mr. Biden, compared to 6% who supported Mr. Phillips and 6% who supported Mr. Williamson. 2% supported it.

Biden allies say Tuesday's primary results underestimate Biden's overall support in the state, especially since many independents choose to vote in the more competitive Republican primary. He insisted that he would. A similar Suffolk poll from early January found Biden leading former President Trump by 7 points in New Hampshire in a hypothetical general election matchup.

“Joe Biden will be the Democratic presidential nominee. Our campaign is focused on building an organization that can take on any radical MAGA Republican the Republican Party nominate here.” Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fawkes said on Fox News.

“Minnesota's legislators have been very supportive of President Biden and voted for him almost 99 percent of the time to get real things done for the American people,” Fulks added. “So we are grateful for his service.”