Things are getting messy for President Biden in New Hampshire.
Rep. Dean Phillips, Minnesota Democrat, kicked off his upstart bid against Mr. Biden in the state on Friday, days after the Biden campaign announced that the president would not appear on the New Hampshire ballot. Mr. Biden tried and failed to strip New Hampshire of its traditional first-in-the-nation primary status in part because its demographics are too White.
Mr. Biden’s decision has opened an opportunity for his long-shot rivals to land an embarrassing blow against the 80-year-old incumbent early in the nomination process.
The situation has raised serious concerns among the president’s supporters in New Hampshire. Some are planning a write-in campaign to avoid the negative headlines of another Biden loss there.
In his announcement speech, Mr. Phillips said he has “affection” and “gratitude” for Mr. Biden but it is “time for the torch to be passed to a new generation of American leaders.”
“I am inviting you to join me in declaring a new American independence, not from another nation or people — rather a new independence from fear and the status quo,” Mr. Phillips said in New Hampshire. “That road to a new American century starts right here, and it starts right now.”
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He said he sought the Democratic presidential nomination because it was “time for a change.”
Mr. Phillips has been teasing a challenge for months and made it official when he filed for the New Hampshire primary in Concord.
Marianne Williamson, an author and spiritual leader who is also running against Mr. Biden, is focusing on New Hampshire. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was seeking the party’s nod but announced earlier this month that he would run instead as an independent.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Mr. Biden’s campaign manager, informed New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley last week that “while the president wishes to participate in the primary, he is obligated to comply” with party rules.
It is the latest wrinkle in a feud among Mr. Biden, New Hampshire Democrats and state election officials over the Democratic nomination calendar.
The irony is that Mr. Biden urged the Democratic National Committee to adopt a new calendar with South Carolina hosting the first primary ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire, which have traditionally led off the nomination battles.
The DNC complied with the shake-up, which was made to empower minority voters who have long been reliable supporters of the Democratic Party.
Indeed, Mr. Biden’s victory in the South Carolina primary in 2020 helped salvage his bid after poor showings in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
Other states have long been jealous of Iowa and New Hampshire’s influence over the nomination process.
They have sought to move up their nomination contests to be closer to the center of the action and play more prominent roles in picking the party’s standard-bearer.
Under the Biden-endorsed plan, South Carolina would hold its primary on Feb. 3, followed by the New Hampshire and Nevada primaries three days later.
From the get-go, New Hampshire Democrats have questioned the plan and said state law mandates that New Hampshire hold the first-in-the-nation primary.
Even if they thought it was a good idea, the state Democrats said, they did not have the power to change the law because of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and the Republican-controlled state legislature.
“They’re fools,” Mr. Sununu told The Washington Times last month. “I don’t know what’s going to happen other than we are going first.”
Mr. Buckley maintains that Mr. Biden is still well-positioned to win New Hampshire through a write-in campaign.
“The reality is that Joe Biden will win the [New Hampshire primary] in January, win renomination in Chicago and will be re-elected next November,” Mr. Buckley said on social media last week.
“President Lyndon Johnson won the 1964 and 1968 NH FITN Presidential Primary with Write-Ins,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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