Politics | New Hampshire primary Biden Wins New Hampshire on Write-In Votes President's name wasn't actually on the ballot By Newser Editors Posted Jan 23, 2024 7:14 PM CST Copied President Joe Biden speaks during an event on the campus of George Mason University in Manassas, Va., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, to campaign for abortion rights, a top issue for Democrats in the upcoming presidential election. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) The showdown between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley in New Hampshire on Tuesday got most of the attention—Trump won—but Democrats also had a primary. It was, however, a little unusual. President Biden will win based on write-in votes, projects the AP. The president's name wasn't actually on the ballot because of a dispute between the Democratic National Committee and the state party about when the primary should be held. As a result, the DNC, which the AP notes has the final say on election rules, has decreed that the primary is meaningless because no delegates will be awarded. Still, it's not a good look for a sitting president to lose a primary under any circumstances, so Biden surrogates—unofficially—organized a statewide write-in campaign. As Slate puts it, "Biden can't officially win, but he can't afford to lose." In early results, write-in votes (most of them for Biden, presumably) accounted for 73% of the vote, ahead of Dean Phillips (20%) and Marianne Williamson (5%), per the Washington Post. The write-in names will be officially sorted after the first tally. (One observer thought Biden needed to hit about 80% to have a good night.) Read These Next New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. Supreme Court ruling is a big blow to Planned Parenthood. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. Get breaking news in your inbox. What you need to know, as soon as we know it. Sign up Report an error