New Hampshire bucks national Democrats, will hold nation's first primary

Nov. 15 (UPI) -- New Hampshire announced Wednesday it will hold next year's first-in-the-nation political primary on January 23, 2024, ignoring an official schedule change that stripped the Granite State of its century-long top spot, elevating South Carolina to number one.

We're going first whether they like it or not," said New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, in March. "I dare you -- come and take it."

The Republican primary has never been in doubt, but Democrats who enter the New Hampshire Primary will be participating in an unsanctioned event.

In 1975, the state legislature passed a measure that required New Hampshire to have its leadoff status written into state law.

The move ends months of speculation that involved President Biden, the Democratic National Committee and New Hampshire's role in the nominating process.

Even though New Hampshire will hold the first primary, Democratic candidates will not be awarded any delegates by the DNC. The results will be treated much like the numbers in the Iowa Caucuses, which are considered a popularity contest and a measure of campaign organizing strength at the start of the national campaign, where no delegates toward the nomination are awarded.

The DNC has not said if it plans to punish candidates who choose to participate in the unsanctioned Democratic primary. President Biden will not be on the ballot, and his supporters have urged voters to initiate a write-in campaign for the president. Critics of that move called it "hypocritical" and "bizarre."

"I find it somewhat ironic that you disenfranchise a state and then ask for a write-in campaign," Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, told reporters in Hanover on Monday night.

Biden's campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, told the state's Democrats that, "the president looks forward to having his name on New Hampshire's general election ballot as the nominee of the Democratic Party," adding that the president "will tirelessly campaign to earn every single vote in the Granite State next November."

Both New Hampshire and Iowa, more than 93% white, have long been criticized for not being representative of the cultural and racial makeup of the rest of America. South Carolina is about 62% white.

"Our first-in-the-nation status is now being challenged by the Democratic National Committee due to alleged concerns over lack of racial diversity," Scanlan said. "Using racial diversity as a cudgel in an attempt to rearrange the presidential nominating calendar is an ugly precedent. At what point does a state become too old or too wealthy, or too educated or too religious to hold an early primary?" he continued.

Scanlan accused national party leaders of trying to control the nomination process.