[caption id=”attachment_138399″ align=”aligncenter” width=”828″] Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. speaks at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Friday, June 19, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)
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Just when Bernie Sanders thought things might bode well for him in New Hampshire, state law presents what could be a major hurdle for him ahead of 2016.
Specifically, the Democratic presidential candidate could face difficulty in New Hampshire — a state in which he presents a legitimate challenge to opponent Hillary Clinton — when he embarks on the filing process for presidential candidates there.
According to New Hampshire law, presidential candidates are required to be part of the party whose primary in which they are competing, meaning that Sanders — an Independent — could be barred from registering for the Democratic primary.
The state’s Declaration of Candidacy, according to NPR, reads:
Sanders, unfortunately, is an Independent — not Democrat — and has only won his elections as such.
And, while he appeared on the ballot for and won the nomination in the 2006 and 2012 Senate Democratic primary contests in Vermont, Sanders turned down the nomination to run as an Independent.
This is the first time that the state has faced such a problem, and New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner admitted to NPR that he’s not sure how the cards will fall.
“Whenever the question has come up, there was some way to usually show the person has been on the ballot of that party,” Gardner explained. “I really don’t know.”
If there is a challenge when Sanders identifies himself as a Democrat, the debate will go to the New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission which is composed of three Republicans and two Democrats.
Nevertheless, Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs insisted that the campaign doesn’t forsee this being “an issue,” according to Politico. After all, the candidate does have the support of the state’s Democratic party and, as it turns out, a good deal of support from the voters.
According to a Morning Consult poll released earlier this month, Sanders is favored by 32 percent of New Hampshire Democratic primary voters, while Clinton only holds a 12-percentage-point lead over him.
