N.H. Dems insist their hands are tied on first-in-nation primary

New Hampshire Democratic party officials sent the Democratic National Committee a letter on Thursday insisting that it cannot comply with White House-dictated demands that would force the state to forfeit its treasured First In The Nation presidential primary status.

President Joe Biden proposed a new 2024 primary calendar, which still must be approved by the DNC, that would reorder the calendar to allow the state of South Carolina to vote first. New Hampshire and Nevada would go second but on the same day and Biden further recommended that Georgia and Michigan be brought into the early mix. 

But New Hampshire has long had a law on the books that requires the state to hold its presidential primaries before any other similar contest in the nation.

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Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, in a letter to a legislative leader that was made public Thursday, went as far as saying that New Hampshire’s first state history was something that brought both parties together then he vowed, “Mark my words. Come next year, Secretary of State Scanlan WILL ensure that New Hampshire remains as the First in the Nation Presidential Primary,” Sununu wrote.

New Hampshire’s Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley said in the letter sent Thursday in response to a DNC deadline to states, that it was an impossibility for Democrats, who do not have control of the entire state legislature or the governor’s office, to change that law even if they wanted to do so.

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“Put simply: the DNC’s waiver requirement is unrealistic and unattainable, as the New Hampshire Democratic Party cannot dictate to the Republican governor and state legislative leaders what to do, and because it does not have the power to change the primary date unilaterally,” Buckley said in the letter sent Thursday. 

Buckley and other New Hampshire officials had previously vowed to still hold their primary first, despite being at odds with DNC rules.

Republican New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jason Osborne also sent a letter echoing Buckley.

“I regret to inform you that no legislator from any party has filed legislation that would comply with your outrageous demands,” Osborne wrote. “Furthermore, given your overreach into state affairs, it is likely that any legislation pertaining to these demands would be met with fierce resistance.”