On Jan. 23, 2024, New Hampshire held its 2024 primary elections. Current president, Joe Biden, won the Democratic primary, despite being a write-in candidate. Former president Donald Trump won the Republican primary, beating second place candidate Nikki Haley by nearly 36,000 votes (about 10.9%).
Biden was not included on New Hampshire’s primary ballot because the Democratic National Convention wanted South Carolina’s primary to be the first of the 2024 election due to South Carolina demographic diversity, according to NPR. New Hampshire was required by law to go first, hence Biden being a write-in. According to NPR White House Correspondent Tamara Keith, “the outcome is more symbolic than anything.” The results of the New Hampshire primary will not count towards the nomination of the Democratic candidate. Despite not being formally part of the race, Biden won by 36.3 points as of Jan. 24, 2024. The second place candidate of the Democratic race, Dean Phillips, has no intention to drop out yet. Phillips stated that he “will be introducing [himself] to the country,” and intends to wait until polling begins to see who, between him and Biden, will be the more viable candidate against presumed Republican nominee Trump.
Trump maintains a sizable lead over main opponent Haley, nabbing 12 of the delegates up for grabs in New Hampshire. Delegates cast votes on who should receive the nomination based on the proportion of votes received in the primaries according to the Library of Congress. Haley, the former two-term governor of South Carolina and U.N. Ambassador for the United States, won 8 delegates. After the race was called, Haley told the press, “[People have] all heard the chatter among the political class. They’re falling all over themselves saying this race is over. Well, [she has] news for all of them: New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not last in the nation. This race is far from over," emphasizing her intention to remain in the race despite intensifying party pressure to drop out, as reported by Forbes . Haley also claimed that she was a “fighter” and her campaign was “scrappy,” and that she intends to continue to run in her home state of South Carolina’s primary. PBS reported on how Trump pointed out that he had won the state in the 2020 election, and that Haley had in fact lost the race, stating “She didn’t win. She lost.” Trump’s victory comes shortly after a clear win in the Iowa caucus, where he beat second place candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by nearly 30 points according to APNews, at which point DeSantis dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.
South Carolina’s Democratic primary will be Feb. 3 and the Republican one will be Feb. 24. As an open primary state, voters can vote in whichever primary they prefer, regardless of official party affiliation.
By Lola Mestas, Copy Editor