CONCORD, N.Y. (AP) — The presidential primary filing period marked by lights, cameras and (in)action has ended at the New Hampshire secretary of state’s office.
Two weeks before him dropped out former Vice President Mike Pence was the only candidate who had his own studio covering him when he signed up for next year’s as-yet-unscheduled Republican race.
Former President Donald Trump’s headquarters tore out a strip of carpet that reserved seats for local journalists and placed his campaign photographer up front instead.
President Joe Biden failed to register at all, in deference to the changes the Democratic National Committee is making to the nominating calendar.
While Biden will rely on a write-in campaign, the Democratic ballot is unlikely to be empty. US Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota simultaneously announced his campaign and registered to vote on Friday, the last day of the filing period. Self-help author Marian Williamson filed on October 12.
But wait, there’s more.
There will be 21 names on the Democratic ballot and 24 on the Republican ballot. This is fairly routine in New Hampshire, where there is one state legislator for every 3,400 people. In 2020, 33 Democrats and 17 Republicans signed up. The all-time high was in 1992, when 61 people got on the ballot.
The simplest way to get on the New Hampshire presidential primary ballot is to file a declaration of candidacy and pay a $1,000 fee. Minimum submission requirements tend to result in a crowded field.
“For any person who in the fourth grade had a dream of growing up to be president of the United States, New Hampshire is a place where they can come and try to make that happen,” said Secretary of State David Scanlan. “And that’s certainly reflected in the large number of lesser-known candidates we have for our presidential primary.”
The recordings included Republican Rachel Swift, who appeared in a skirt and top emblazoned with American flags and said her platform included legalizing marijuana and prostitution, ending human trafficking and retrofitting Ford Focus cars to last 30 years and millions of miles. Democrat Terisa Bukovinac, who seemed surprised by the audience of reporters when she checked in, wants her party to join the push to ban abortion.
“I hope to promote the victims of abortion and help create a strong place for pro-life Democrats in the political sphere,” she said.
In addition to Trump and Pence, the Republican ballot will include the six other candidates who qualified for the last debate: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and business entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
New Hampshire held the nation’s first presidential primary in a century, successfully fending off challenges from other states, thanks in large part to a New Hampshire law that gives the secretary of state sole authority to set the date and requires it to be at least a week before such a contest . In 2024, New Hampshire will oppose a new Democratic calendar that South Carolina has the presidential primary voting begins Feb 3 and Nevada goes three days later.
The changes, made at Biden’s request, are intended to give black and minority voters more of an opportunity, leading to a state with more people of color than New Hampshire. Scanlan countered that no one state truly represents the nation’s demographics, and that New Hampshire deserves to remain first for multiple reasons: It’s neither red nor blue, it’s a small state geographically, and it has a small media market. Voter turnout is high and citizens are engaged, he said.
“Whether it’s the president or the former president, or whether it’s one of the lesser-known people who come in, if that person walks down Main Street and wants to interact with a New Hampshire voter, they’re going to be greeted and treated with courtesy and respect “, he said. “That’s the role we play.”
