In Tuesday’s primary election in Michigan, both Joe Biden and Donald Trump won easily as the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. Trump’s challenger, Nikki Haley, received 26 percent of the Republican vote. But a protest campaign shows that Biden’s stance on the Middle East conflict has done damage within the Democratic Party. No other American state has as many Arab-Americans as Michigan. Several of them have family and friends in Gaza. They are disappointed, angry and outraged by how US President Joe Biden is handling the war, which is hitting Palestinian civilians hard. Layla Elabed leads the “Listen to Michigan” campaign. She urged voters to vote noncommittal, and not for incumbent President Joe Biden. Photo: Rebecca Cook / Reuters Over 100,000 democratic voters have actively voted out the president. That amounts to roughly 13 percent. In terms of the number of votes, there are five times as many blanks as when Barack Obama sought re-election in 2012, but in terms of percentage only slightly higher. Protest Votes in Michigan Voters in Michigan can mark “uncommitted,” or neutral, on the ballot in party primaries. The protest campaign against Biden had 10,000 votes as a target. It is fewer than in previous elections, but the same number of votes that Trump won the state with in 2016. Here is an overview of how many people have previously voted “uncommitted” in Michigan: 2008: 238,168 votes (40.1%) 2012: 20,833 votes (10.7%) 2016: 21,601 votes (1.8%) 2020: 19,106 votes (1.2%) 2024: 101,067 votes (13.3%) Source: Politico and New York Times That probably sets off alarm bells call Joe Biden’s campaign. – An “uncommitted” vote is a humanitarian vote, says Layla Elabed to Reuters. The electorate she is mobilizing among makes up no more than 2-3 percent of Michigan’s population, but they could be sitting on one of the keys to the White House. Protest campaign against Biden Although there are more than eight months to the presidential election, all aspects of the result in Michigan are being studied. It is about weaknesses, support and enthusiasm in an important seesaw state. Joe Biden won Michigan last time by 3 percentage points over Trump, and now Arab-Americans and Muslims are threatening to stay home. Michigan man John is one of the voters who exercised his right to vote during the state primaries on Tuesday. Photo: Carlos Osorio / Reuters Activists have urged Democrats to mark “non-committed”, or neutral, on the ballot to show President Biden’s displeasure. They demand that the President of the United States use his power to make Israel stop the bloody war. They feel alienated in the party and are threatening not to run for Biden this autumn. They got the idea from the election campaign in 2008 when Barack Obama was not on the ballot in the state. To embarrass or embarrass Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Obama’s people mobilized supporters to vote “uncommitted.” Around 40 percent did so in the 2008 primary election. Activists in the “Listen to Michigan” campaign are celebrating the preliminary results, which send a powerful message to President Joe Biden. Photo: AFP Punishing Biden’s politics Before the election, activists said they hoped for at least 10,000 “uncommitted” or blank votes. It is the same number of votes that Donald Trump won with in the state in 2016. They have beaten that target by a large margin. Several commentators have pointed out that the activists’ aim was far too low. Previous primaries, without such a large campaign behind them, had collected twice as many blank votes. Others point out that a few thousand votes could tip Michigan, and a double-digit percentage would be a big win. The protest election in Michigan was a greater success than in New Hampshire earlier this year. In the primary election in New Hampshire, only 1,500 voters, less than 2 percent of those who voted, followed the call to write “truce” on the ballot over Joe Biden. Governor Warns It is said that the road to the White House goes through Michigan. Should the activists make good on their threat not to support the president in November, Biden could lose Michigan. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has prepared the party for a significant portion of the electorate to vote blank. Photo: Reuters Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer has had several meetings with Arab and Muslim communities about Biden’s Israel policy. She is one of the leaders in Biden’s campaign for re-election. Whitmer has warned the activists not to “send a message” to Biden via the polling stations. – If you do something other than cast an affirmative vote for Joe Biden, then it is a vote for a new term with Donald Trump, said Whitmer at an election campaign event on Monday. Whitmer is seen as a possible presidential candidate for the Democrats in the coming years. Biden announces ceasefire The war in the Middle East has created unrest and division in the Democratic Party. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receives US President Joe Biden at the airport in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023 Photo: AP Young voters and people on the left have criticized Israel’s long-running war in Gaza. They have referred to it as genocide. In Michigan, there have been loud protests for weeks against President Biden’s clear support for Israel. Joe Biden has kept a low profile in Michigan. But the day before voters were to have their say, Biden said, ice cream in hand, that negotiators are close to an agreement on a ceasefire. He believes a temporary solution, with a ceasefire and the release of hostages, can be put in place by next Monday. That doesn’t seem to have been enough for the activists in Michigan. Joe Biden and Donald Trump look set to have a rematch in Michigan this fall. Biden won the state in 2020, while Trump won in 2016. Photo: AP If the presidential election were held today, Trump would have won Michigan by five percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics’ average of polls. Trump won in Michigan The Republicans also held nomination elections in Michigan. Donald Trump continues his march towards the party’s nomination, but without having united the Republican Party. He is likely to get around 68 percent of the vote, while the only challenger, Nikki Haley, will probably end up with around 26 percent of the vote. In pure numbers, Trump got about as many votes as the Democrats combined. But the result does not mean much for the mathematics against the nomination. 70 percent of the delegates to the national convention are first distributed this weekend when the Michigan Republican Party organizes voter meetings, known as caucuses.
ttn-69
Biden wins in Michigan – despite protest vote – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
