Michigan voters cleverly created the “uncommitted” campaign during its presidential primary vote this week. While President Joe Biden won the Democratic primary for the state, results are still pouring in as to how many voters would register their discontent with Biden’s Israel policies by voting “uncommitted.”
“While the final results won’t be available for days, what was already clear in the minutes after the last polls closed Tuesday was that the effort to send Biden a message would work. In fact, when all the votes are tallied, the campaign in Michigan to get Democrats to vote “uncommitted” might even send former President Donald Trump a message” writes the Daily Beast.
The “uncommitted” campaign hoped to get at least 10,000 votes in the Michigan primary, a number which was “easily cleared” likely getting 10,000 votes in the Republican primary alone. “In the Democratic primary, the message was far stronger” according to the Daily Beast.
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday, “uncommitted” looked as though the amount of votes was passing 100,000 and edging towards 150,000 votes. The message is “a clear rebuke of the president’s unconditional support for Israel and a major sign of trouble for Biden in a state that was decided by less than 11,000 votes in 2016” adds the publication.
The Daily Beast notes that the success of voters making an uncommitted stand is due primarily to the Hamas-Israel war and Michigan’s large population of Muslim and Arab-Americans:
The so-called Listen to Michigan campaign was led by—and targeted toward—Muslim, Arab-American, young, and progressive voters who have grown disillusioned with Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza. Perhaps no state was a more fitting venue for this challenge than Michigan, which is home to the largest Arab-American population in the United States.
With a recent EPIC-MRA statewide poll showing that over half of Michigan voters support a ceasefire in Gaza, the “uncommitted” effort was as much about registering anger with the president as it was about spelling out the political peril for Biden if the status quo on Gaza continues.
Discontent with how President Biden has handled strife in the Middle East could point to an opportunity for the state to flip to former president Donald Trump. “A number of recent Michigan polls have shown Trump winning a rematch against Biden, prompting Biden’s allies to warn that such a key state—with its 16 electoral college votes—should be handled with care. While Biden won Michigan in 2020 by about 150,000 votes, the state is a key flip opportunity for Trump in 2024” writes the Daily Beast.