Joe Biden takes the risk of a false start.
While all eyes are on Donald Trump, favorite to win the Republican primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday, the American president has decided to skip this state, putting his campaign under the radar.
New Hampshire traditionally kicks off the primaries to determine the two candidates who will compete for the White House.
But this time, the name of the current president will not appear on the ballots in the Democratic primary, due to disagreements over this electoral calendar.
At the initiative of supporters, however, voters will still write his name in the ballot.
By counting these votes, Joe Biden thus takes the risk of coming third in this northeastern state, behind two other candidates: the Democrat Dean Phillips and the writer Marianne Williamson, author of books on personal development.
Joe Biden takes the state “for granted (…) He should campaign in New Hampshire, he should present himself in front of the voters”, tackled Mr. Phillips during a recent debate with Ms. Williamson, to which Mr. Biden did not did not participate.
“He should be on the ballot in New Hampshire, for heaven’s sake.”
He’s the president,” he added.
During the primaries in 2020, Joe Biden lost significantly in this overwhelmingly white state and was then saved by the strong support of African-Americans in the state of South Carolina.
“All frustrated”
Once elected, he asked the leadership of the Democratic Party to place South Carolina before New Hampshire and Iowa in the calendar, to benefit from better initial dynamics.
But New Hampshire, controlled by Republicans and for whom being the first state to launch primaries is a sacred cow, steadfastly refused.
Local activists, although disappointed and annoyed that Joe Biden did not participate in the vote, decided to let his supporters know that they can still put his name on the ballots.
On Saturday, around twenty of them braved the winter cold in Manchester, the state capital, singing and carrying signs: “Ask me if I can write Joe Biden”.
Candidate and Congressman Dean Phillips came out to offer them coffee.
“We are all frustrated that (Biden) is not on the ballot,” said Kathy Sullivan, 69, a retired Manchester lawyer.
“But we're putting that aside because it's really important that Joe Biden beats Donald Trump in November.
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Dan Seferian, 62 years old and retired, who came from Reading (Massachusetts) with his wife Colleen, criticized Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips for not supporting Joe Biden's re-election campaign.
“I think they should support the party and the outgoing president.
Phillips is a young man.
He could run in 2028. He should have waited his turn,” he said.
60% of the votes to avoid humiliation
Some donors supporting the president fear that putting Joe Biden's name on the ballot would hand him an unnecessary defeat, prompting observers to question how many votes were obtained.
The vote could thus still be analyzed as a measure of the president's popularity, whereas the result could otherwise have simply been ignored.
Democratic presidents seeking re-election typically get about 80% of the vote in New Hampshire primaries, and party strategists estimate that Joe Biden would need to get about 60% of the vote to avoid humiliation.
“A win is a win, and I think we can get it,” said New Hampshire Rep. Donna Soucy, a campaign co-chair.
“We worked very hard on this effort (to write Biden's name) across the state, and I think the voters today - those of us who are out here in the cold - are proof of enthusiasm for President Joe Biden.
» She acknowledged frustration over Biden's non-participation, but placed blame on party officials in Washington, rather than the president himself.
“It's a little more complicated to express our support in this election, but we're going to do it anyway because we are dedicated to our president,” she said.