Division in the Democratic Party? Why is Biden not on the ballot in New Hampshire?

Whilst all attention is on the Republican Presidential primary in New Hampshire this week, it has slipped unnoticed to many that there is a Democratic primary in the same state also. Peculiarly, President Joe Biden will not be on the ballot. So, just what is going on in the Democratic Party?

Firstly, the Democratic National Committee has said that it will not recognise the results of the New Hampshire primary. This is because they originally scheduled South Carolina to be the first Presidential primary in 2024. This may appear to be nothing more then petty inter party squabbling, but New Hampshire has a point. Iowa and New Hampshire have been the first and second states to hold their caucus and primary since 1972, so why the change now? Well, some have suggested that the Democratic Party wanted South Carolina to go first because it is a state where Joe Biden has historically performed very well and therefore an early big victory will put off other challengers. And, somewhat surprisingly for an incumbent President, there are other challengers.

Currently, the Democratic Primary in New Hampshire is being fought between the Congressman, Dean Phillips of Minnesota and the self-help guru, Marianne Williamson. Joe Biden has declined to be on the ballot as he does not want to go against Democratic National Committee rules. Nonetheless, it is expected that Biden will win New Hampshire on what is called a ‘write in’ vote whereby his name is not on the paper, but voters in the state simply write his name on it themselves. Most polls currently have him ahead of Phillips by somewhere between 20-45%.

What the New Hampshire controversy reveals is that all is not rosy in the Democratic Party. Whilst appearing more stable than the Republican Party, some issues have helped to cause a wedge within the party. Most notably, Biden has found the ongoing conflict in Gaza to be a source of tension and there is a campaign by member party members in New Hampshire to write ‘ceasefire’ on the ballots during the primary. Moreover, whilst the US economy is performing well, many Americans are not feeling any better off and so challenges, particularly from the left of the party are demanding that Biden do more to support the working classes. And then there is the issue of age. For many Democrats, Biden represents the past, a past that has often served America well, but perhaps is not what is needed to secure a new future.