Top Democrats and Republicans in New Hampshire are essentially telling the Democratic National Committee to pound sand after the DNC threatened to remove the Granite State as host of the party’s first primary on the presidential nominating calendar.
Top New Hampshire Democrats are being more diplomatic than their Republican counterparts, attempting to avoid a nasty family feud with the national party that is under the supervision of President Joe Biden. But their reaction to the DNC’s fresh edict, that traditional early states such as New Hampshire must reapply for their coveted spots on the 2024 primary calendar, was no less defiant than that offered by senior Granite State Republicans.
“Every four years, the national parties look at their primary calendar, and what took place at today’s [DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee] meeting is no different than what’s happened in previous years,” Troy Price, executive director of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said as part of a lengthy statement. “But make no mistake, New Hampshire will retain its first-in-the-nation primary.”
“What the DNC thinks is irrelevant. In New Hampshire, we set our primary dates, not them,” added Jim Merrill, a Republican operative in Manchester who has advised presidential contenders. “The DNC is just another in a long line of wannabes who have tried to diminish one of the greatest proving grounds in American politics. Like all of the others, they, too, will fail.”
Under New Hampshire law, the state runs the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries, not the parties. The statute also requires that New Hampshire hold the first traditional, presidential primary contest on each party’s nominating calendar. Over the years, New Hampshire’s secretary of state has occasionally moved up the date of the state’s presidential primary as a precaution against other states leapfrogging the Granite State and eliminating the influence it often wields over the choosing of nominees.
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On Thursday, New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan assured reporters nothing will get in the way of this time-honored tradition. That includes any changes to the schedule ordered by the DNC that could be enforced under penalty of losing voting delegates to the national nominating convention, where the Democratic standard-bearer is officially elevated. “When the time comes, we will follow New Hampshire’s law,” Scanlan said, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
The DNC’s decision is expected in early July. The party could grant “early state” status for 2024 to as many as five states. Gov. Chris Sununu seemed less convinced than Scanlan that the DNC was bound to fail should it decide to demote New Hampshire. “It’s concerning,” the Republican told reporters, adding that he views this threat as real and more worrisome than past, similar efforts. Sununu is running for reelection this year.
Every four years, the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee formulates the rule that sets the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating calendar, specifying which state’s primary or caucus is granted “early” status, and in which order these early states vote. For years, the RBC’s decision, later ratified by the full DNC, has been a formality that reaffirmed Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina as the approved early states.
Not so this year, as the DNC responds to pressure from the liberal base to move more ethnically diverse states to the front of the line in the party’s presidential nominating process. New Hampshire is almost 93% white, according to population figures, and liberal activists want the presidential calendar to, in their view, reflect the increasing racial diversity of Democratic voters better.
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This week, the RBC threw out the traditional calendar, which featured, in order, the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, the Nevada caucuses, and the South Carolina primary. Instead, all state parties that want to host early presidential primaries have until June 3 to submit applications to do so. But even if a state party’s application is accepted, there is no guarantee the DNC will grant the state its preferred slot in the voting order.
So, the DNC might reaffirm New Hampshire’s status as an early state but choose to move the state from the coveted “first in the nation primary” slot. New Hampshire has occupied and zealously defended this position of power, on both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating calendars, for decades, and Democratic insiders in the state are saying that they expect their state to retain its position regardless of what the DNC decides.
“The tradition of New Hampshire going first is going to be tough to overcome or change even if the DNC decides to change the calendar,” a Democratic operative in the state said.
