Democrat strategists warn Biden set up for NH ’embarrassment’

President Biden’s failure to register for New Hampshire’s primary ballot has opened the door to an “embarrassment” that could reverberate through the rest of the 2024 race, political strategists tell The Post.

The 81-year-old incumbent will not be an official participant in the Jan. 23 Granite State contest in deference to the Democratic National Committee’s new calendar, which has South Carolina as the first primary on Feb. 6.

However, New Hampshire state law requires that it hold its primary at least one week before any other state.

“It’s not a great situation, because it leaves a vacuum and provides opportunities for mischief,” Democratic strategist Brad Bannon told The Post, arguing that it “would hurt the president” if rivals Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) or self-help author Marianne Williamson got a significant vote share — even if they don’t finish first.

“It would be embarrassing to the president if he did not win” the Granite State, Bannon added.

By rule, New Hampshire is likely be stripped of some or all of its delegates to the Democratic National Convention for refusing to fall in line with the DNC edict, but the prospect of a shock outcome on primary day is likely to linger longer in the political consciousness.

Democrats are scrambling to publicize a Biden write-in campaign before the Jan. 23 primary to boost his chances of defeating dark-horse candidate Phillips.

Phillips, for his part, has zeroed in on New Hampshire in an attempt to boost his chances of defeating Biden, who he’s criticized as being too old and not capable of holding off GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.

Biden is averaging 68% support nationally compared to Phillips’ 3.4% and Williamson’s 8.4%, according to data complied by RealClearPolitics.

If the write-in campaign doesn’t prove successful, Biden’s performance in New Hampshire could be a repeat of 1968, when then-President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would not seek another term after a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary, Democratic pollster John Zogby told The Post.

Scenarios which could be “hugely embarrassing” for Biden include “not meeting his expectations” or coming in below 50%, Zogby said.

“Even through it’s a write-in, a president needs to blow away the opposition, and he’s not popular in New Hampshire,” he added.

New Hampshire has also not been kind to Biden in the past. In 2020, he placed fifth in the Granite State and needed a blowout win in South Carolina to salvage his candidacy.

“I think Biden made a horrible, critical mistake,” former Bill Clinton adviser Dick Morris told The Post. “It will give his opponents, namely Dean Phillips, tremendous opportunity to get visibility to really launch his candidacy.”

Morris also cited Johnson dropping out after the 1968 New Hampshire fiasco, saying the “same arrogance affected Biden.”

Other strategists were less apocalyptic in their outlook..

“I think some voters will be miffed, but most Democrats won’t care too much,” said Henry Olsen, a veteran political analyst and senior fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center. “It could be an embarrassment for Biden, though, as there’s not a lot of enthusiasm for him. If many Dems do not write his name in, Phillips could do better than he otherwise would be expected to.”

Doug Schoen, a veteran political strategist and another former Clinton adviser, said he believes the White House “will make a real commitment financially and politically to a write-in campaign,” which is “likely to be successful,” given Biden’s polling numbers.

“But only with a major commitment of time and money from the White House,” Schoen stressed, would Biden escape New Hampshire without hitting a campaign pothole.