Self-inflicted political wound could keep Joe Biden off N.H. primary ballot: report

Anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and new-age guru Marianne Williamson are unlikely to present much of a challenge to Joe Biden in the race for the Democratic party’s nomination next year.

But the fringe candidates may get a major boost out of New Hampshire in next year’s primary, and it could be the president’s own fault, Politico reports.

Biden has clashed with Democratic party officials over his attempt to eliminate the Granite State’s status as the first-in-the-nation primary state, a move that would have pushed South Carolina into the leadoff spot.

But state law requires New Hampshire to hold the nation’s first primary, and the Granite State is likely to adhere to it.

That leaves Biden, who on Tuesday announced he’s running for a second term, in a bind.

Politico’s Lisa Kashinsky and Charlie Mahtesian report: “And so Biden faces a quandary of his own design. If he participates in the primary of a state that’s poised to go rogue, he risks violating party rules — which would likely impose sanctions on candidates or states in violation. (A Biden campaign aide said the president and his team would abide by any sanctions imposed by the DNC, if that were to happen.)

“But if Biden doesn’t appear on the ballot, he could cede the unofficial first contest to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and self-help guru Marianne Williamson.”

A loss in New Hampshire is unlikely to have material consequences in the presidential race, but it would not be a good look for Biden.

Kashinsky and Mahtesian write: “… the optics surrounding the potential train wreck would be a messy distraction, at precisely the wrong time — the official outset of the presidential primary season. Comparisons would be drawn to two of the most famous and consequential New Hampshire primary challenges of yesteryear — Democrat Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and Republican Pat Buchanan in 1992 — even if the circumstances next year aren’t remotely similar.”

Chris Moyer, an operative who worked on Sen. Cory Booker’s (D) 2020 presidential campaign in New Hampshire, suggests that the optics matter.

“In terms of materially impacting his reelection, it’s probably a minimal effect. But New Hampshire is still an important swing state in the general election that you can’t take for granted and you want positive movement,” Moyer told Politico.

“You don’t want any negatives along the way as he looks ahead to 2024.”