(BPR) A new effort underway in the Granite State took aim at saving face and staving off a potential upset for the president to kick off the 2024 primaries.
The Democratic National Committee’s reworked calendar for 2024 had pitted New Hampshire state Democrats in a standoff with leadership that culminated in President Joe Biden foregoing the filing deadline, keeping himself off the ballot for the first-in-the-nation primary. Now, local political figures hope to spare the embarrassment of a loss to begin a re-election bid with a “grassroots” write-in movement.
“The fate of our democracy itself hangs in the balance in the 2024 election,” read the splash page run by Granite State Write-In, a PAC registered with the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 23. “That starts with supporting Joe Biden in New Hampshire’s 2024 First in the Nation primary.”
“None. Absolutely none. We have not heard anything from them…It truly is a citizens’ grassroots effort,” contended the former legislator and registered lobbyist.
Biden’s 2020 candidacy had suffered back-to-back loses in Iowa and New Hampshire with him finishing in fourth and fifth place respectively, preempting the DNC’s decision to support South Carolina, his initial first-place victory, as the leadoff primary for 2024. However, state law in New Hampshire requires their contest to fall no less than seven days before any contest pitting state officials against their federal counterparts.
Still, while New Hampshire Rep. Annie Kuster, like Rep. Chris Pappas and Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, was not listed as a member of the grassroots committee, her personal social media account had shown favor for the write-in effort.
“Joe Biden is the leader our country needs to continue moving America forward,” she wrote. “I’m proud to support the grassroots effort to Write-In Biden in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary this winter.”
Joe Biden is the leader our country needs to continue moving America forward.
I’m proud to support the grassroots effort to Write-In Biden in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary this winter.
Join us 💪🏼🇺🇸⬇️https://t.co/PwYGsRbp23
— Annie Kuster (@AnnMcLaneKuster) October 30, 2023
