The Democratic Party's decision to end New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary status was a "total betrayal" by President Joe Biden, a Dem lawmaker repping the state charges.
In a Sunday interview with WMUR, Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., said his state's primary status "is part of who we are."
"It helps define the kind of democracy, the direct democracy, that we have, that still flourishes today in New Hampshire," he said. "The engagement that we get from voters."
"What happened with the DNC [Democratic National Committee] was a total betrayal by Joe Biden," he declared.
Biden finished fifth in the 2020 New Hampshire primary, getting no pledged delegates.
"We were not necessarily anticipating the president to come forward with a plan to reorder the primary calendar," Pappas said.
"He's someone who has campaigned here, who understands the value that New Hampshire adds to the presidential nominating calendar, and it's a big disappointment that he decided to push the DNC to make these changes."
The DNC finalized a new primary calendar in early February that moved the South Carolina primary ahead of New Hampshire and Nevada.
But New Hampshire law requires the state to have the nation's first primary; GOP Gov. Chris Sununu insists that won't change.
The Daily Caller reported if the state defiantly holds its primary out of approved order, the Democratic Party could take away some or all of its convention delegates.
In the schedule shift, the DNC vowed to "diversify" its nominating process in the wake of the 2020 primaries — and also ended the Iowa caucus's first-in-the-nation status after technical glitches and a fourth-place finish for Biden, the Daily Caller reported.
Georgia and Michigan, both of which Biden won in 2020, will hold their primaries before Super Tuesday under the new schedule.
Biden hasn't said yet if he'll seek a second term.
But the Daily Caller noted if he chooses to, he'll probably face minimal competition, with Marianne Williamson the only Democratic candidate so far.
The New York Times has reported Biden is expected to announce his candidacy by April.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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