Biden Wins New Hampshire Primary After Refusing to Campaign in Granite State

President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Montgomery County Community College, in Blue Bell, Pa., on Jan. 5, 2024. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

MANCHESTER, N.H.—President Joe Biden is expected to win Tuesday’s mostly symbolic Democratic primary in New Hampshire, thanks to write-in votes from his supporters. The president refused to campaign in the Granite State or appear on the state’s ballot.

Early results indicate that, despite the challenges of a write-in campaign, President Biden maintained a comfortable lead over the 21 candidates whose names appeared on the ballot, including Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and author Marianne Williamson, who’s running for the nomination for the second time.

The New Hampshire primary was unusual in that the incumbent president was not on the ballot this year. Since 1920, New Hampshire has hosted the nation’s first primary election. National Democrats, however, changed the rules to reverse this tradition by having South Carolina lead the party’s primary season calendar and calling today’s primary “meaningless.”

Regardless, some New Hampshire Democrats launched a write-in campaign for President Biden, urging voters to put his name on the ballot. Despite these efforts, observers note that voter turnout among Democrats in New Hampshire was low this year, highlighting the recent conflict between state and national Democrats.

Mr. Phillips, a 54-year-old three-term congressman, announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in October last year. He hoped to have strong results in New Hampshire’s primary on Tuesday by appealing to large independent voting base and make the case that the Democrats need a better candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump.

He earned endorsements from prominent figures such as former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman, who recently donated $1 million to the congressman’s campaign.

Ophelia Burnett a voter from Manchester, N.H., who describes herself as independent, changed her vote from Nikki Haley to Dean Phillips after hearing the congressman’s speech at a campaign event.

Ms. Burnett, who voted for Joe Biden in 2020, says the president should step aside.

“I think he has to come to terms with his age. And I feel like someone who’s going to be running our country should be a little bit more fit and just be more aware of things that are going on,” she told The Epoch Times.

Many New Hampshire voters were furious when National Democrats challenged the state’s first-in-the-nation status for primary elections.

Lauren Zielinski, 36, of Manchester, N.H., was one of them. She said she wrote in Joe Biden’s name on the ballot despite her dissatisfaction with the latest rule change by the DNC.

“We have a law that we need to have first-in-the-nation primary and it has put our officials and our voters in a tough position; it’s not very appreciated,” she told The Epoch Times.

But I ultimately decided to vote for Joe Biden because of the progress that he and his party have made over the last four years,” Ms. Zielinski said.

Dean Phillips Vows to Stay in the Race

Minnesota congressman announced that he would continue to challenge President Biden after a strong showing in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary. With 43 percent of results in, Mr. Phillips has pulled in around 20 percent support in the Granite State.

“This is not just a campaign. I know as a candidate; this is the beginning of a movement,” he told his supporters.

Mr. Phillips congratulated President Biden on his victory but stated that the incumbent could not defeat former President Donald Trump.

“Joe Biden is a good man; he’s a fine man. Yes, he is, everybody. He’s our president. But I gotta tell you, everyone, he cannot win. The polls are saying he cannot win; his approval numbers are saying he can’t win.”

Mr. Phillips also recognized Nikki Haley’s achievements in New Hampshire.

“I want to celebrate Nikki Haley tonight. She has to stay in this race and still try to take that man down,” he said, referring to the former president.

“I know the exhausted majority of this country—center-right and center-left Americans—would much rather see a Nikki Haley-Dean Phillips matchup this November.”

Brendan O'Connor, a Phillips supporter from Manchester, N.H., was disappointed to hear the initial primary results after learning that President Biden is expected to win the race.

“Shame. I have no idea why anybody would vote for him,” he told The Epoch Times.

Mr. O'Connor voted for President Trump in 2020 but distanced himself following the events of Jan. 6. He is upset that the National Democrats attempted to alter New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary status.

“Now the Democratic Party hijacked our primary, and it’s no worse than what was done on January 6. I think it’s a shame,” he said.

Mr. O’Connor voted for Mr. Phillips because of his stance on wars and believes he will keep the United States out of conflicts.

If Joe Biden and Donald Trump were to square off again in 2024, Mr. O'Connor said he is undecided, but RFK may loom as a strong candidate.

“They both scare me. Kennedy will be good too,” he said.