President Joe Biden‘s quest for another four years has not been as easy as it typically is for incumbents, but with the various obstacles in the early part of the campaign, he has emerged victorious.
Biden will face the unusual task of minimizing the uncommitted vote in the Michigan Democratic primary on Tuesday but has already weathered several other challenges on his path to November and another term in the White House.
Here are three obstacles Biden has successfully maneuvered in his bid to win reelection.
Dean Phillips
As with most incumbent presidents running for reelection, Biden did not receive many challengers, but he did get one with some media buzz: Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN).
Phillips, a House Democrat with little national name recognition, mounted a primary challenge to Biden, with some expecting him to take some of the vote in early primary states, such as New Hampshire. The Minnesota Democrat received 19.6% in New Hampshire, good for a distant second place, and 1.7% in South Carolina, finishing in third behind Marianne Williamson.
While Phillips is still running his campaign, his lackluster performances have not been enough to be a true primary threat to the president.
Write-in campaign in New Hampshire
When the Democratic National Committee worked to move the South Carolina primary to the front of its preferred primary calendar, traditional early primary states Iowa and New Hampshire pushed to stay at the front of primary season. Iowa Democrats came to a compromise of withholding results until Super Tuesday, while New Hampshire went forward with holding its primary ahead of the South Carolina primary.
Because of the DNC’s preferred schedule, Biden’s campaign did not file to have his name appear on the ballot in New Hampshire, leaving the door open for another candidate to win the primary state in an embarrassment to the incumbent. Allies of Biden pushed a write-in campaign for the president, hoping he could still win despite not campaigning in the state or appearing on the ballot.
Biden won the primary in an overwhelming fashion despite being a write-in candidate, with 63.9% of the vote.
Joe Manchin
With the high dissatisfaction in polls at the prospects of a rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump in November, some possible third-party candidates have been talked about as viable alternatives.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a constant thorn in Biden’s side during his presidency, had played coy over whether he would run for president, with No Labels also seemingly showing interest in a run by the West Virginia Democrat.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
After nearly a year of speculation that Manchin, a red-state Democrat, could challenge Biden and Trump, he announced earlier this month he would not seek the presidency in 2024.
With Manchin not running as a third-party candidate, there is a lack of a high-profile challenger, clearing the way for a one-on-one matchup between Biden and Trump in November, a rematch both men want but most voters don’t.
