WILTON, N.H. — The four Democrats who make up New Hampshire’s congressional delegation have denounced the plan. Republican Governor Chris Sununu has declared it dead on arrival. And Jane Farrell, the longtime town clerk here, scoffed at the notion with straight talk that was both economical and damning.
“I think it’s a rotten idea,” said Farrell, who doubles as tax collector in this former mill town near Nashua.
What would be rotten for the Granite State, according to Farrell, is a Democratic Party plan to take away its first-in-the-nation presidential primary, a century-old tradition now required by state law, and let South Carolina kick off the campaign in 2024.
“Tradition has merit, and we’re a small enough state that you can meet the candidates, shake their hands, and if it’s the fall, ask them to help stack cordwood” for the winter, Farrell said with a smile inside the historic Town Hall.
“That’s a huge advantage as residents, and they get to hear from us, too,” she added.
Under the proposal, the New Hampshire primary would be bumped to second behind a much more racially diverse state that helped propel President Biden to the nomination in 2020. But if New Hampshire loses its lead-off slot, the intense retail politicking that marks its primary season might go the way of the Old Man of the Mountain, the granite landmark that collapsed in 2003.
In downtown Nashua, a few blocks from where future president John F. Kennedy opened his New Hampshire primary campaign, Brandon Piecuch lamented the plan, which could be approved by the full Democratic National Committee in early February.
“We’re the perfect purple state in among blue states,” said Piecuch, an independent voter, as he sat inside Jajabelles, a cafe and bakery that serves as a political gathering spot during primary season.
“You get a good idea here of how other swing states will go,” he said. “You hear all of the BS stuff, but you also hear a lot of the policy stuff.”
The Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws panel has recommended that the New Hampshire primary share the No. 2 slot with Nevada, three days after South Carolina votes. The early Iowa caucuses, which were plagued by vote-counting woes in 2020, would be dropped from the top of the Democratic calendar.
National Republicans, however, have voted to keep their primary scheduling intact, with the Iowa caucuses followed by New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.
“So now, the national Democrat Party is trying to change our state law,” Sununu has said. “If it weren’t so serious, it would be an absolute joke.”
The DNC panel has given New Hampshire a Jan. 5 deadline to submit a statement of intent to repeal its first-in-the-nation mandate and allow early voting, which it does not currently offer. But with Republicans controlling the governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature, there is no chance of repeal.
If New Hampshire does not comply, the DNC’s response is uncertain. But political observers speculated that possible moves could include reducing investment in candidates there or discouraging them from participating in debates.
In any event, a cherished tradition is at risk.
At Jajabelles, owner Jessica dePontbriand said the close, personal contact that comes with the primary is invaluable in assessing candidates.
“It’s not about their status; it’s about who they are,” dePontbriand said. “When you meet someone face to face, they can change your perspective completely.”
Farther down Main Street, pharmacy employee Maria Roberts did not mince words.
“I think it’s terrible. Why would they do that?” said Roberts, 58, who wore a COVID mask behind the counter at century-old Wingate’s. “We’re this little tiny state, and it’s the only thing that sets us apart.”
The schedule change also has been blasted by the state’s two senators, both Democrats. Senator Jeanne Shaheen has called it “tremendously disappointing,” and Senator Maggie Hassan criticized it as “deeply misguided.”
The pair boycotted the White House congressional ball in early December in protest.
Some critics of the move have cited Biden’s fifth-place showing in New Hampshire in 2020 as a motivating factor. He later resurrected his campaign with the comeback in South Carolina, where heavy turnout among Black voters carried him to victory.
But losing in New Hampshire, which is 93 percent white, has not been an automatic death knell for Democratic hopefuls. In addition to Biden, two other recent party nominees — Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — rebounded in South Carolina after losing the primary here.
Still, Biden has thrown his weight behind the change.
“Too often over the past 50 years, candidates have dropped out or had their candidacies marginalized by the press and pundits because of poor performances in small states early in the process before voters of color could cast a vote,” Biden wrote to the Democratic National Committee.
While acknowledging that the state lacks diversity, most New Hampshire residents interviewed by the Globe argued that its door-to-door scrutiny has been an effective opening act.
“There are always parts of the country that are less diverse,” said Farrell, the Wilton town clerk.
Democrats in the state also are worried that threatening the election date will cost them at the ballot box, and that many independents, who can vote in either party’s primary, will choose Republicans instead.
Despite all the noise, some voters are tuning out or unconvinced that change is coming.
“I guess it’s just a tradition. But does it really make a difference?” said Marie Fortier, 80, who owns the Here Today Emporium in Wilton. “I don’t think it matters. The honesty and integrity of the election results are more important than whether we go first.”
And then there are folks like Elmer Santerre, 88, the only barber in Wilton, who is set to retire on New Year’s Eve after 64 years of cutting hair.
“I can’t give you a clue there. I have no idea,” Santerre said when asked if losing the first primary would be a big deal.
“I don’t talk politics in my barber shop. I just let the customers talk; I don’t answer them,” Santerre said as he prepared to close for the day.
“You can ask me about fishing and hunting, though. I can talk about those,” Santerre added. “But leave out church and politics.”
Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at brian.macquarrie@globe.com.