How will Biden do in Michigan primary? Governor ‘not sure’ amid push for protest vote

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she doesn’t know how President Joe Biden will perform in the state’s Democratic primary amid a planned protest vote.

Some prominent state Democrats have urged residents to vote “uncommitted” in response to Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to see on Tuesday, to tell you the truth,” Whitmer, the state’s top Democrat, told CNN on Feb. 25 in advance of the Feb. 27 primary.

“Michigan has been so fortunate to be the home of a robust Arab, Muslim (and) Palestinian community and a robust Jewish community,” Whitmer said. “There’s a lot of pain all across all of these communities because of what’s happening halfway around the world.”

Asked whether she believed a “sizable” number of Democrats would vote “uncommitted,” Whitmer expressed uncertainty.

“I’m just not sure what to expect,” she said. “There are a lot of different things that can impact what happens on Tuesday.”

In Michigan, “when a voter selects ‘uncommitted’ this implies that they are exercising a ‘party vote’ but are not committed to any of the candidates listed on the ballot,” according to state officials.

One of the highest-profile officials supporting an “uncommitted” vote is Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who has been a vocal critic of Israel’s siege of Gaza — which has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

“Right now we feel completely neglected and just unseen by our government,” Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, said in a video posted on X. “If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote ‘uncommitted.’”

The activist group Listen to Michigan has also pressed Democrats to vote “uncommitted.”

“Trump only won Michigan in 2016 by about 10,000 votes,” the group’s website states. “Uncommitted Michigan Democrats opposed to Biden’s policy in Gaza can demonstrate that we hold his margin of victory for re-election.”

“Biden must earn our vote through a dramatic change in policy,” the website adds.

The “uncommitted” campaign appears to have touched a nerve with a small minority of Michigan Democrats, according to a new poll.

Nine percent of Democrats in the state plan to vote “uncommitted” on the primary ballot, according to a Feb. 26 Emerson College poll, which sampled 1,000 voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. The majority of Democrats, 75%, still plan to vote for Biden.

This disaffected minority appears to have caught the attention of the Biden Administration, which has dispatched senior White House aides to meet with Muslim and Arab-American leaders in the state.

Michigan, a key battleground state, will likely be crucial to Biden’s re-election campaign, according to CNN.

In the Emerson poll, 44% of Michigan voters supported Biden, compared to 46% who supported former President Donald Trump.

This story was originally published February 26, 2024 at 12:01 PM with the headline "How will Biden do in Michigan primary? Governor ‘not sure’ amid push for protest vote."