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A successful write-in campaign for President Joe Biden in New Hampshire has given Democrats ammunition to argue that early 2024 polls aren't capturing the enthusiasm for Biden in the party's grassroots.
Democrats in New Hampshire who organized the write-in effort said Biden's victory Tuesday in the state's Democratic primary should give the party a boost of confidence as Biden ramps up his reelection campaign, with opinion polls showing him neck and neck with the likely Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump, who easily won his party's primary.
Biden's victory highlighted the decision by Democratic officials to fall in line behind the president following years of rumors that he might face a serious primary challenge. No high-profile Democrats stepped forward to take Biden on, despite his poor job approval rating and persistent concerns from voters about his age.
The president's victory "showed that the level of enthusiasm is higher than people think," Jim Demers, a former New Hampshire Democratic state representative who was involved in the write-in effort, told Newsweek.
Biden was pronounced winner of the vote in the New Hampshire primary after he got more than 50 percent of total votes cast, but his total could rise above 70 percent when all write-in votes are counted. The early results put Biden not far from the vote share for Barack Obama and Bill Clinton in 2012 and 1996, the last two New Hampshire primary contests won by an incumbent Democratic president running for reelection.
Obama won with 81 percent of the vote in 2012, while Clinton captured 84 percent in 1996. Biden appears likely to come close to those totals despite not campaigning in the state like they did due to a messy fight between the Democratic National Committee and New Hampshire state party that resulted in his name being left off the ballot.
"It could have been cleaner but all things considered it's a net positive" for Biden, Lucas Meyer, a Democratic strategist in New Hampshire, told Newsweek.
Biden's biggest rivals in New Hampshire were Dean Phillips, a Democratic congressman from Minnesota, and Marianne Williamson, an author who ran for the party's presidential nomination in 2020.
Phillips stood a distant second with 20 percent. Williamson and the rest of the field, which included several lesser-known candidates, had a combined 8 percent.
"I want to thank all those who wrote my name in this evening in New Hampshire. It was a historic demonstration of commitment to our democratic process," Biden said in a statement. "It is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee. And my message to the country is the stakes could not be higher. Our Democracy. Our personal freedoms — from the right to choose to the right to vote. Our economy — which has seen the strongest recovery in the world since COVID. All are at stake."
The results from the New Hampshire Republican primary offered warning signs for Biden.
Trump made history by becoming the first non-incumbent Republican presidential candidate to win the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Trump won with 54.5 percent, with 90 percent of the votes counted.
Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor, vowed in a speech to supporters Tuesday to continue her campaign after finishing second in New Hampshire with 43.2 percent of the vote.
Trump led in polls in New Hampshire in the run-up to the primary, so his victory Tuesday was not a surprise. But Trump is now positioned to amass an insurmountable delegate lead and is well on his way to capturing the Republican presidential nomination for a third consecutive time.
The exit polls from the New Hampshire Republican primary underscored Trump's hold on the party.
Sixty-one percent of New Hampshire Republican primary voters said they do not consider themselves part of Trump's MAGA movement. Nevertheless, 51 percent said they did not believe that Biden's 2020 election victory was legitimate.
Among New Hampshire Republican primary voters, 52 percent also said they would consider Trump fit to serve as president even if he was convicted of a crime. Trump faces four separate indictments, including federal charges of election interference following his loss in 2020. Trump has plead not guilty in all four cases.
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About the writer
Daniel Bush is a Newsweek White House correspondent based in Washington, D.C. His focus is reporting on national politics and ... Read more