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What do you do when you are one of the guardians of your state\u2019s most precious political and cultural institution \u2014 the very thing that defines New Hampshire \u2014 and the president you love and the party you\u2019ve served your whole life, tells you to destroy it?\nTo find out, we spoke to Ray Buckley. Buckley has served as the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party since 2007 and he was involved in every New Hampshire presidential primary campaign since he was an organizer for Jimmy Carter.\nA big part of his job is protecting the status of the New Hampshire primary, which by state law is required to be the first in the nation. Any Democrat who wants to be president makes a point of becoming Ray Buckley\u2019s friend. When Buckley got a call in December from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the worst part was that it was Joe Biden who had screwed him. Biden had decided to end New Hampshire\u2019s decades-long reign by hosting the first presidential primary \u2014 at least for the Democrats. In its place: South Carolina, the state that resurrected Biden\u2019s candidacy in 2020.\nOn this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza speaks to Buckley about New Hampshire\u2019s fight to preserve their first-in-the-nation primary.\nRyan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Ray Buckley is the chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Brook Hayes is a senior editor for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices