Joe Biden supporters seek victory in N.H. primary with write-in campaign

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden will not appear on primary ballots in New Hampshire on Tuesday, but his supporters are rallying an effort to write him in.

The Write-In Joe Biden campaign started as a grass-roots movement by about 100 Granite Staters, spokesman Aaron Jacobs told UPI. It has gained support from state Democrats and local activist groups.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and author Marianne Williamson will appear on Tuesday's ballot. However, Biden did not submit his name for the primary.

The president is instead staying out of the New Hampshire primary in any official capacity. The primary is not being officially recognized by the Democratic National Committee at this point. It will not recognize delegates awarded in the primary after deciding that South Carolina will hold its first-in-the-nation primary on Feb. 3.

Jacobs is still hopeful that the DNC will change course on seating delegates. He cited similar situations when there was a disagreement between the DNC, Florida and Michigan over the scheduling of primaries.

The DNC initially determined that the 2008 primaries in Florida and Michigan violated party rules and refused to seat delegates from either. This decision was later reversed and the delegates were recognized.

"We hope there is an agreement eventually," Jacobs said. "Delegates are important. At the same time, part of what's so important about New Hampshire is we go first and the eyes of the country and world will be on us on Tuesday."

The campaign is taking an on-the-ground approach, while other organizations support Biden with mail and digital ads. The budget for the write-in campaign is about $70,000, which Jacobs said is not enough to support staff and other resources that most campaigns have.

Instead, the campaign dispatches its leaders to Democrats' town and county events throughout the state. It has also gathered local volunteers to show up at polling places on Tuesday and inform voters how they can write in Biden.

"This is really unlike any campaign I have ever been a part of," Jacobs said. "It's totally decentralized. It's really about local volunteers."

Jacobs is a former campaign manager for Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.

Winning as a write-in candidate has been done before. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, defeated Republican Joe Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams in 2010. Her write-in campaign received more than 100,000 votes.