He faced a fierce backlash from his own party over his handling of the Gaza crisis, but President Joe Biden still managed to secure a decisive victory in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary. Despite a grassroots campaign to urge Democrats to vote “uncommitted” as a sign of protest, Biden swept the state with 80% of the vote, according to the latest CBS News projection.
He expressed his gratitude to “every Michigander who made their voice heard today” in a statement that ignored the dissent within his ranks. He also touted the achievements of his administration in the state and slammed his rival Donald Trump, who is also projected to win the Republican primary.
The results suggest that the stage is set for a rematch of the 2020 election, when Biden narrowly defeated Trump in the battleground state. Michigan is seen as a key swing state, having voted for the winning candidate in the last two presidential contests. It is also home to the largest Arab-American population in the country, many of whom are unhappy with Biden’s support for Israel during its deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Activists from the group Listen to Michigan celebrated the size of the “uncommitted” vote, which amounted to tens of thousands of ballots. They shed tears of joy and anger at their watch party as the numbers came in. Congressman Andy Levin, who endorsed the “uncommitted” vote, told the crowd: “I take no joy in being here tonight. This moment is a child of necessity because people are dying by the thousands.”
This was not the first time that Michigan Democrats chose to cast their votes as “uncommitted”. In 2020, around 19,000 did so, and in 2016, more than 21,601. In 2008, it was a whopping 238,000 – after Barack Obama’s campaign urged them to do so, because he opted out of the ballot due to party disputes.
But this time, the “uncommitted” vote was driven by a different motive: to send a message to Biden that they would not tolerate his silence on the Gaza war. They chanted “no ceasefire, no vote” and vowed to keep up the pressure on the president to end the bloodshed.
