Biden supporters in New Hampshire soon to announce write-in effort for primary

New Hampshire supporters of President Biden are expected to announce early next week their organizing effort to build a write-in campaign to support the sitting president in the state's first-in-the-nation primary in 2024.  

The write-in effort stems from the fact that Mr. Biden's name will not appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot. He is complying with the primary rules set by the Democratic Party, which changed the order of the primary calendar to make South Carolina the first state to hold a Democratic primary that awards delegates for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next year.

New Hampshire was pushed back further in the party's calendar, but state law requires New Hampshire to host the nation's first primaries. 

While this write-in movement will work to encourage the president's supporters to go to the primary polls, the grassroot effort will not be connected to the president's reelection campaign. This Democratic group will need to file its intentions with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to form a nonconnected political action committee, which bars the group from using Mr. Biden's name in its organizing title, as stipulated by the commission.  

Several Democrats familiar with the plans for the mobilization effort told CBS News the announcement of this adjacent campaign will be accompanied by what they said was an impressive list of endorsements across the Granite State for Mr. Biden.  

This effort will also counter the presidential primary challenge mounted by Rep. Dean Phillips from Minnesota, a three-term congressman who has been calling for more Democratic primary challengers to Mr. Biden since this summer, due in part to concerns about the president's advanced age of 80.  

While the machinations of this pro-Biden write-in campaign—or results of New Hampshire's Democratic primary results overall—are unlikely to have much impact on Mr. Biden's chances to be the Democratic nominee, this primary election conundrum has raised questions about the wisdom of his candidacy.   

New Hampshire voter George Bruno, a former U.S. ambassador during the Clinton administration, said he shares the concerns about his party's likely nominee. "I looked at Biden as sort of a transitional president and that is what I had hoped he would be when we elected him originally. I didn't think he was going to go for eight years," Bruno told CBS News. 

"I'm 80, so take it from me," Bruno added, "At 80, you shouldn't be running for president — and that also goes for Donald Trump."  

Bruno said he is considering voting in the Republican presidential primary, as New Hampshire election rules allow the more than 344,000 registered "undeclared" voters to participate in either party's primary election. 

The number of undeclared voters has grown in the past month, as more than 3,500 Democrats in the state recently switched their party affiliation to undeclared, according to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office.  

"I don't want Trump to be the Republican nominee," Bruno said, "So, we'll see as we get close to the primary date whether there is a serious challenge to Trump and whether that Republican candidate needs a little boost." 

Bo Erickson

Bo Erickson is a reporter covering the White House for CBS News Digital.

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