MANCHESTER, N.H. — President Biden won the New Hampshire Democratic primary on Tuesday, an unusual race that he skipped after the party changed its rules in favor of seeing South Carolina hold the first nominating contest of the year.
As a result, Biden wasn't on the printed ballot. But Biden won regardless, according to a race call by The Associated Press.
The victory comes after a grassroots campaign urged Democrats to write in his name and a super PAC raised about $1.5 million to back the effort.
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The outcome is more symbolic than anything. The Democratic National Committee broke with tradition this year and chose South Carolina to hold its first primary of the year, on Feb. 3. But New Hampshire has a law requiring it to go first, so it went ahead with its vote anyway.
As a result of the dispute, New Hampshire's delegates won't be seated at the Democratic convention in August, and the results won't count toward Biden's official nomination.
The snafu gave an opening to Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., to launch a long-shot challenge against the incumbent president.
But Phillips' push prompted the New Hampshire Democratic establishment to organize a write-in campaign, to try to make sure Biden was not embarrassed by the primary results.
The Biden-Harris campaign, for its part, steered clear of the state and the write-in effort.
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