EXETER, N.H. — President Biden secured victory in New Hampshire's Democratic primary Tuesday night, despite not appearing on the ballot and asking supporters to write their names.
With more than a quarter of the expected Democratic vote, the 81-year-old incumbent has enough to thwart front-runner Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who received 20% of the vote. It was expected that it would receive more support. Vote.
Self-help author Marianne Williamson was a distant third with 5% of the vote.
Biden refused to register to vote in the New Hampshire primary after a dispute over dates between the Democratic National Committee and state officials.
The DNC tried to move the nation's first primary to South Carolina on February 3, but New Hampshire agreed because state law requires it to hold its primaries at least a week before other states. There wasn't.
To counter Mr. Biden's snub, Democratic leaders in each state are putting their influence behind the “Light in Biden” initiative, placing volunteers at polling places, putting up signage, and giving the New Hampshire Democratic Party its first day in office. sent a mail with instructions on what to do.
Live election results from New Hampshire
Longtime Democratic strategists said Biden's absence from the vote meant that then-President Lyndon B. Johnson also wouldn't appear on the ballot, and that he would not be able to win re-election by a narrower-than-expected margin in the 1968 primary. I was worried that it would lead to repetition.Defeat Sen. Eugene McCarthy (Democrat, Minnesota)
While Biden's absence likely reduced turnout for him, Tuesday's results marked a significant improvement from four years ago, when he finished fifth with about 8% of the vote.
Mr. Biden's victory likely means the end of the road is near for Mr. Phillips, who revealed last week that he had spent $5 million of his own money on his campaign.
The Minnesota lawmaker's main argument was that the 81-year-old president is too old to serve and doesn't have enough support to defeat Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
“I think the way Donald Trump degrades so many people on his side, the way Joe Biden doesn't restore the soul of the nation, that's the lack of leadership that this country really needs,” the 55-year-old said. said. he told Fox News Tuesday morning.
“Joe Biden is a good person,” Phillips added. “He's not going to beat Donald Trump…I think these two should retire by now.”
Phillips also argued that Biden's failure to show up in the Granite State shows how little he cares about voters.
“A sitting American president has chosen not to appear on the ballot in the first primary state in the nation,” he said in an interview with The Post last month. “I think this is a symptom of a much broader disease, which is a lack of respect for voters across the country, including here.”
Phillips vowed to continue making inroads in other early states, such as Michigan, and to continue fighting for voting rights in states where Democratic primaries are not being held because Biden is the incumbent president.
