Biden allies desperate for him to win New Hampshire primary to 'avoid... humiliation': Report
President Biden is holding off on campaigning in New Hampshire's Democratic primary "to avoid embarrassment in what’s traditionally been the country’s first presidential nominating contest," The Los Angeles Times reported.
"To avoid the sting of humiliation," the report continued, "Democratic elected officials, party leaders and activists have spent the past several weeks encouraging voters to write in Biden’s name on the New Hampshire ballot, firmly ensconcing the incumbent president in a contest that’s no longer supposed to matter."
The importance of New Hampshire is not based on official Democratic National Committee (DNC) rules, but instead because it is the state that will "serve as a first test for an incumbent president facing strong electoral headwinds, including sagging poll numbers among young people and voters of color."
A New York Times poll released early in November set off a media firestorm after it found that former President Donald Trump holds sizable leads over President Biden in five of the six most important battleground states. Trump leads Biden by a whopping 10 points in Nevada, six points in Georgia, five points in both Arizona and Michigan, and four points in Pennsylvania. Biden's sole lead is in Wisconsin, where he beats Trump by two points.
Prominent Democrats have also warned Biden that he is losing support rapidly among young voters. New York Times chief political analyst Nate Cohn broke down the numbers on Biden's low approval rating even within his own party.
"Mr. Biden has just a 76-20 lead among young voters either registered as Democrats or who have previously voted in a Democratic primary," he wrote. "It’s just a 69-24 lead among young nonwhite Democrats. The dissent exists among self-identified Democrats, Democratic-leaners, Biden ’20 voters, and so on."
Some opponents of Biden have seized on his political unpopularity to campaign in New Hampshire. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., "is among the 21 names listed on the New Hampshire ballot, along with self-help author Marianne Williamson," The Los Angeles Times reported.
Dante Scala, political science professor at the University of New Hampshire, said that Biden is hoping for the New Hampshire primary to end "as quietly as possible."
"For Biden, in some ways I think he would rather see the whole primary go by as quietly as possible," Scala said. "There are really large concerns about Biden’s age and so forth among Democrats, no question about it. If there was a serious alternative, it would be a different sort of race."
Former state Democratic Party chair Kathy Sullivan reportedly said that she was "mad if not madder than other people" about Biden’s refusing to officially campaign in New Hampshire, but she warned against the return of Trump.
"You have to put aside your anger and frustration at the process and say, ‘What’s the best way of keeping Trump out of the White House, or some other MAGA-type person?" Sullivan said. "That’s to reelect Joe Biden,'" Sullivan said. "He’s our guy and he’s done a good job."
She continued: "One thing you hear a lot from the write-in Biden people is don’t cut your nose off to spite your face. This is about the future of our democracy, the future of our country, so suck it up and do what the best thing is for the country, the best thing is for democracy and, frankly, the best thing is for the New Hampshire primary."
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.