Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) targeted President Joe Biden in a social media post on Thursday, saying his state will hold the first presidential primary regardless of whether the president likes it.
The Democratic National Committee extended the deadline for New Hampshire to comply with the DNC's nominating calendar on Thursday, which would remove it from the first primary position and place South Carolina first instead. However, Sununu said his state will not back down.
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"New Hampshire will not comply with the arbitrary demands and deadlines coming from Joe Biden and the DNC," Sununu posted to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "We will not back down. New Hampshire will be going first whether Joe Biden likes it or not."
New Hampshire will not comply with the arbitrary demands and deadlines coming from @JoeBiden and the @DNC.
— Chris Sununu (@GovChrisSununu) September 14, 2023
We will not back down.
New Hampshire will be going first whether Joe Biden likes it or not. https://t.co/qp4ISXYFvY
The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, which unanimously approved the extension, said New Hampshire needed to overhaul its voting laws to secure the second primary date, as New Hampshire law states the Republican and Democratic primaries must be held on the same date and the state must be first. Otherwise, the Granite State could see the nomination convention decline to recognize its delegates in the voting process, according to the Boston Globe.
If the state fails to comply with the party's demands, the president could also be left off the ballot.
"We committed at the outset of this process to allow for every opportunity for states to honor the opportunity of hosting their nominating contests within the early window," DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Co-Chairman James Roosevelt told Fox News. "We want to recommit to that principle and continue to work with the New Hampshire Democratic Party towards that goal."
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The extension will last until Oct. 14, 2023. State law grants New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan, a Republican, sole authority to schedule the primary, which he has not done. On Wednesday, he announced that candidates can sign up between Oct. 11 and Oct. 27.
The committee has made similar demands of Iowa, which holds the caucuses before any state's primary, but Iowa has also not reached an agreement with the DNC.