House Majority Leader Jason Osborne joined Gov. Chris Sununu and legislative leaders from both parties in flatly rejecting the Democratic National Committee’s demand that New Hampshire repeal its first-in-the-nation primary law, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. The letters were a unified response across party lines.
Osborne left no doubt about where the Legislature stood.
Osborne said the DNC demands are a non-starter.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
In a letter to the DNC panel carried by the New Hampshire Union Leader, Osborne wrote plainly that the Legislature would not act.
“I regret to inform you that no legislator from any party has filed legislation that would comply with your outrageous demands,” Osborne wrote .
the New Hampshire Union Leader
He cast the demand as federal overreach into state affairs and warned of stiff opposition.
“Furthermore, given your overreach into state affairs, it is likely that any legislation pertaining to these demands would be met with fierce resistance.”
the New Hampshire Union Leader
As the New Hampshire Union Leader reported, the letters were an official response to the DNC committee’s demand that New Hampshire either repeal its first-primary law or risk being pushed back on the 2024 calendar, which would have placed South Carolina first and New Hampshire and Nevada less than a week later. Gov. Sununu sent his own letter declaring “It’s just not in our DNA to take orders from Washington” and vowing “We will not be blackmailed.”
Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley and Senate leaders from both parties also urged the panel to recognize the Granite State’s primary, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. Buckley wrote that the committee should “not punish New Hampshire Democrats,” and separately agreed to cap candidate access to the voter file at $10,000 if New Hampshire kept its early window. Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy warned that punishing the state’s Democrats “could have dire consequences for Democrats up and down the ticket in 2024.”
Party Chairman Raymond Buckley made a parallel appeal to the DNC panel on behalf of the state’s Democrats, urging the committee not to penalize them for a law they could not change. He asked the panel to keep New Hampshire in its traditional early slot.
“We ask that this committee not punish New Hampshire Democrats and recognize the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation primary in 2024,” Buckley wrote .
the New Hampshire Union Leader
President Joe Biden and the DNC rules panel had endorsed a 2024 calendar that would have placed South Carolina first, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada. The full DNC was expected to vote on the nominating order the following month, with the early-state lineup still unsettled. Buckley also offered a separate concession, agreeing to cap candidate access to the state voter file at $10,000 if New Hampshire kept its early window. The unified response from Republican and Democratic leaders alike underscored how rare bipartisan agreement had become at the State House, and how firmly both parties intended to defend the century-old tradition.
Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
