MANCHESTER, N.H. — Discontent with President Biden among Democrats and independents is coursing through New Hampshire, where voters are flocking to younger alternatives like Rep. Dean Phillips and are even considering GOP candidate Nikki Haley in the primary on Tuesday.
Mr. Biden isn’t on the ballot and hasn’t shown up to campaign in the first-in-the-nation primary. His reelection team is saturating snubbed Democratic voters with daily mailers that urge them to write in Mr. Biden’s name on the primary ballot, after the state flouted a decision by party officials to hold the first official primary in South Carolina next month.
There’s an unmistakable void left by an absent Mr. Biden in New Hampshire. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, 54, has eagerly filled that void. Mr. Phillips is running in the Democratic primary and is drawing interest from voters across the state who say Mr. Biden, 81, is too old to run for another term.
“I like Biden. I like what he’s done and I like the people in his administration. But he should pass the torch,” said a voter from Bedford who did not want her last name used, as she awaited Mr. Phillips’ arrival at an event at the University of New Hampshire in Manchester on Thursday.
Other disenchanted Democrats are showing up at events for Ms. Haley, 51, who has the endorsement of Gov. Chris Sununu and is promoting herself to New Hampshire voters as an anti-Trump alternative without the former president’s legal troubles and other “drama.”
The state’s undeclared voters, who outnumber Republicans and Democrats and can vote in the primary, are looking for alternatives to a Trump-Biden matchup, which has increased Mr. Phillips’ appeal.
An American Research Poll of likely voters released this week shows Mr. Phillips with 28% of support and Mr. Biden with 58%. It’s a nearly 11% increase for Mr. Phillips in just a month.
Len Gleich, of Keene, listened at Wednesday’s event and said he’s torn between voting for Mr. Phillips, a three-term Democratic lawmaker, or Ms. Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
He’s an undeclared voter, so he can pick either a Democratic ballot or a Republican ballot on Tuesday.
Mr. Gleich wants a candidate who can keep former President Donald Trump, 77, from winning another term in the White House and believes Mr. Biden is too old for the job.
“Your vote in New Hampshire is strategic,” Mr. Gleich said. “It’s a very important vote. The dilemma is, I think Phillips could knock out Biden if he gets enough votes in New Hampshire. But I’m not sure he can then win the nomination.”
Mr. Phillips is campaigning throughout New Hampshire this week alongside businessman Andrew Yang, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020. The two are bashing Mr. Biden as too old and incapable of defeating Mr. Trump again.
“America better be ready for it if Joe Biden is at the top of the ticket because Donald Trump is walking right back to the White House,” Mr. Phillips said after speaking to voters in Manchester.
Mr. Phillips said he’s at least hoping to finish in the 20% range against Mr. Biden. He believes he’s quickly gaining momentum and stands a chance of beating Mr. Biden in New Hampshire.
The primary, he told reporters Thursday after the event in Manchester, “will demonstrate our current incumbent is an extraordinarily weak candidate.”
Mr. Biden chose to skip the primary here after the Democratic National Committee officially sanctioned South Carolina to hold the first contest of the party’s primary.
The DNC took away New Hampshire’s coveted position as the first state primary after the president lost in 2020 but came in first place South Carolina.
But Granite State party officials decided to disregard the DNC schedule and hold their primary on Wednesday, ahead of South Carolina’s Feb. 3 contest.
It’s created an opening for Mr. Phillips, who is running as the kind of moderate politician that appeals to the state’s enormous bloc of undeclared voters. He touted his role in Congress as head of a bipartisan caucus called the Problem Solvers and said as president he would actively address the growth of artificial intelligence, which he believes the government is not currently prepared to handle. He pledged to establish a department of artificial intelligence.
“We should prepare for it. Make sure there’s no nefarious use, but not stifle the innovations that will make life so much more extraordinary, not just for Americans, but for the whole world. I will be our first AI president,” he told voters.
A Democratic National Committee spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr. Phillips’ campaign.
Ann Scholz, of Northwood, said she’d consider Mr. Phillips for president over Mr. Biden.
Her mailbox is stuffed with campaign flyers urging her to write in Mr. Biden’s name on Tuesday, but the longtime Democrat isn’t feeling particularly loyal after the president’s decision not to show up here.
She’s shrugging off the mailers.
“Part of me is like, that’s too bad,” she said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.