Michigan's 100,000 'uncommitted' votes show Israel impact on Biden
By Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt
DEARBORN, Michigan/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Joe Biden's campaign and top Democratic officials vowed to double down on efforts to win over voters as the U.S. president aims to solve conflicts in the Middle East, after Michigan registered a stronger-than-anticipated protest vote over his support of Israel.
About 13.2% of Michigan Democrats cast a ballot for «uncommitted» in the primary, following a weeks-long push by activists, an Edison Research tally showed early Wednesday morning.
With about 85% of all votes counted, the uncommitted vote was already over 100,000 votes, far higher than expectations.
Turnout for the Democratic primary was also high, at some 900,000 voters overall; about 81% of those votes backed Biden.
Biden's campaign will continue to «make our case in the state — to both uncommitted voters and the entire Michigan constituency,» a senior campaign official said as the results were tallied. «The President will continue to work for peace in the Middle East.»
Biden's staunch support for Israel's during its five-month war with Hamas that has decimated Gaza has sparked outrage and a well-organized backlash among progressive Democrats and Arab Americans, with Michigan as their epicenter.
They asked Biden to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and for sympathetic Democrats to vote «uncommitted» in the primary to signal Biden could lose their support in the November general election, aiming for 10,000 votes, a low figure historically. About 20,000 uncommitted votes were cast in Michigan's 2012 Democratic primary, the last time a Democratic president was up for reelection in Michigan.
Biden won Michigan by a less than 3% margin in 2020, and some polls show likely
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