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NH Democrats offer praise to Biden after withdrawal from presidential race

People hand out yard signs promoting the Write In Biden campaign
Josh Rogers
/
NHPR
Volunteers distributed yard signs promoting the "Write In Biden" effort at a New Hampshire Democratic Party fundraiser, Dec. 1, 2023.

As word of President Joe Biden’s decision to abandon his reelection effort reverberated around the political world Sunday, some Democratic voters in New Hampshire said they are hoping for the best — even as the party remains without an official nominee heading into the November election.

Dustin Ferzacca, a 29-year-old lawyer from Salem, says he's relieved Biden decided to step aside.

"If he had stayed in the race and lost, I think we would have looked back and said, ‘What in the hell are we doing?’” Ferzacca said.

Ferzacca said the prospect of Biden remaining on the ballot — and possibly losing to former President Donald Trump — put him in the mind of former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died while on the bench and thus opened the opportunity for a Republican-appointed justice to take her spot.

“We already went through this with RBG,” Ferzacca said. “You know, a person makes a poor decision to stay on longer than they should. At least we've done something now."

In his announcement Sunday, Biden said he is throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place on the ballot. Linda Graham of Concord had mixed feelings over the news. She said she’d hoped to see Biden rally, but said his decision to withdraw was probably the right call in the end.

“It’s sad that it came to this,” Graham said. “I’m sort of sorry that Biden didn’t just agree to be a one-term president and step aside and make that plan for himself, as well as for the country.”

Concord resident Nancy Bates was expecting this decision but said she would have been fine with Biden staying in the race.

“That debate, where he faltered some, they spent so much time ripping it apart, and it was just, like, one debate,” she said.

New Hampshire's top Democrats had largely been supportive — at least publicly — of Biden remaining on the ticket in the weeks since that debate performance. In the wake of Biden's decision to withdraw, they largely praised him for making that choice.

In a statement, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen praised Biden for "once again putting the country he loves first." Sen. Maggie Hassan, meanwhile, praised what she called "Biden's ability to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and still remember the individual hopes and struggles of people."

First District Congressman Chris Pappas, who will be on the November ballot, stressed that he agreed with Biden's decision to pass the torch to a new generation. He also said he endorsed Harris as the party's new nominee.

Second District Congresswoman Annie Kuster, who is retiring this year, was more effusive, calling Biden one of the most consequential leaders to hold the Oval Office. Kuster also joined Biden in endorsing Harris.

Several prominent New Hampshire Republicans, meanwhile, said if Biden is unfit to run for reelection, he should also step down as commander in chief.

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I cover campaigns, elections, and government for NHPR. Stories that attract me often explore New Hampshire’s highly participatory political culture. I am interested in how ideologies – doctrinal and applied – shape our politics. I like to learn how voters make their decisions and explore how candidates and campaigns work to persuade them.
I report on health and equity for NHPR. My work focuses on questions about who is able to access health care in New Hampshire, who is left out, and how that affects their health and well-being. I want to understand the barriers that make it hard for people to get care – including financial barriers – and what people in power are or aren’t doing to make things better.
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