Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote protest against Biden’s support for Israel’s Gaza War is just getting started

Biden defenders have tried to play down the campaign in Michigan, but it has only just begun, Richard Hall writes

Attendees console each other during an "Uncommitted for Joe Biden" primary election night watch party at Adonis restaurant on February 27, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan. (Getty Images)

Joe Biden may have won the Democratic Michigan primary handily yesterday, but anger over his unconditional support for Israel’s war in Gaza led to a significant protest vote that may threaten his chances of winning the state, and the presidency, later this year.

More than 100,000 Democratic presidential primary voters cast their ballots as “uncommitted” on Tuesday following a campaign by activists and lawmakers in the state to impose a political cost on Mr Biden for providing political and financial support for Israel’s war.

In some areas of Dearborn, home to the largest Arab American community in the US, around three quarters of voters chose to cast their ballots as uncommitted.

In a crucial swing state, which Mr Biden only won by 154,000 votes in 2020, those margins could prove to be decisive.

“One hundred thousand uncommitted votes sends a powerful message to the president that he’s got to change course or risk losing to Trump in November,” Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, which was part of the uncommitted campaign, told The Independent.

Mr Geevarghese noted said the campaign to convince voters to cast their ballots for “uncommitted” only began three weeks ago, and that those 100,000 votes may not account for the real number of Democratic voters who may stay home in November.

“Just based on our internal organising there were a lot of people who have given up or don’t think that their voice matters, so I think a lot of people did sit out,” Mr Geevarghese said.

“The White House should interpret that number as 100,000 people speaking for other friends and neighbours who not who did not vote for whatever reason,” he added.

As a Muslim woman, I understand the ramifications of a Trump presidency. I’ve lived through four years of a Muslim ban, I’ve lost rights as a woman, health care, increased taxes. All of those things that have happened over Trump and I’ve lived through them. And yet 30,000 Palestinians did not live through four months of Biden

Samra’a Luqman, activist and member of the Abandon Biden campaign

Biden surrogates have sought to play down the protest vote, pointing to a large turnout and more than 600,000 votes in his favour. They also noted that Barack Obama went on to win reelection in 2012 after facing a similar percentage of uncommitted votes in 2012.

But the Biden campaign has become increasingly uneasy about the growing discontent in Michigan and elsewhere over the Gaza war, especially among Arab Americans.

Earlier this month, Mr Biden dispatched top officials to meet with Arab and Muslim leaders in the state — which is home to more than 310,000 residents of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry — in an attempt to limit the damage. Those pleas largely fell on deaf ears.

Samra’a Luqman, a Yemeni-American activist who is part of the ‘Abandon Biden’ campaign, said the effort to punish Mr Biden politically for his support of Israel’s war in Gaza is coordinated, committed, and just getting started.

“The fervour is there,” she told The Independent. “We have leaders in Florida, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, so it’s not like this is some isolated campaign or only focused on one state or one area in particular. This is a national movement, and there is emotion and passion for the ousting of Biden from the presidency.”

Ms Luqman said there was a gulf between what she has been seeing while campaigning, and the signalling from Democrats, political analysts pundits, who argue that Mr Biden can win back support if he negotiates a ceasefire.

“If you’re on the ground, you know that’s just not true,” she said. “Thirty thousand lives have already been lost, and unless the president can resurrect them, nobody is going to be voting for him. It’s not about what he’s doing now, it’s about what he’s already done.”

People participate in a vigil for U.S. Air Force active-duty airman Aaron Bushnell outside the Israeli Embassy on February 26, 2024 in Washington, DC. Bushnell died after setting himself on fire while live streaming, according to published reports, in front of the Israeli Embassy in protest over the Gaza war. (Getty Images)

More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s offensive in the densely populated territory, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza. The war was launched in response to a surprise attack by Hamas militants on 7 October that killed 1,200 people in Israel. Some 250 people were also kidnapped and taken back to Gaza.

The US government is Israel’s strongest ally, providing almost unconditional political and material support for decades. The US gives Israel around $3.8bn a year in aid for its military and missile defence systems, and has given more than $130bn since Israel’s founding in 1948.

Following the Hamas massacre of 1,200 people on 7 October, which sparked the latest Gaza conflict, Mr Biden has given Israel unconditional financial and political support. His administration has twice passed Congress to send Israel weapons worth hundreds of millions of dollars to carry out its war and asked Congress to approve a further $14.3bn in funding.

As the war has continued, Mr Biden has signalled his unease at the death toll, but has so far refused to call for a ceasefire or use billions of dollars in US military aid as leverage to pressure the Israeli government to change course.

Democrats have tried to persuade Arab and Muslim Americans to cast their vote for Mr Biden in November by raising the spectre of a second Trump term that would target the community, as he did during his first.

Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, said on CNN ahead of the primary: "It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that’s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term. A second Trump term would be devastating ... this was a man that proposed a Muslim ban."

Ms Luqman said she faced this question frequently on the campaign trail.

”Nobody understands how bad is it Trump is for Muslims better than a Muslim, so these messages are condescending,” she said.

“I can tell you, as a Muslim woman, I understand the ramifications of a Trump presidency. I’ve lived through four years of a Muslim ban, I’ve lost rights as a woman, health care, increased taxes. All of those things that have happened over Trump and I’ve lived through them. And yet 30,000 Palestinians did not live through four months of Biden."