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The American president easily wins in Michigan, but early results show strong support for a protest vote over his Gaza policy.
US President Joe Biden won the Democratic presidential primary in the state of Michigan, according to media projections, but early counts showed he faced significant opposition over his support for Israel's war in Gaza.
In Michigan, which is home to a large Arab-American constituency, Democratic voters were urged to mark their primary ballots as “uncommitted” on Tuesday in protest of Biden's Gaza policy.
With 16 percent of the votes counted, Biden obtained 79.6 percent support, and the “uncommitted” obtained 14.9 percent, according to The Associated Press news agency.
The latter amount to 23,000 votes so far, a figure higher than the target of 10,000 set by the organizers of the protest vote.
Michigan routinely offers a “non-committal” option as a way to question whether a designated candidate has the support of the party's base.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump won the Republican presidential primary in the state by a wide margin, according to projections, further strengthening his hold on the party's nomination for the White House, while Nikki Haley, his last remaining rival, was left behind. in a distant second place.
With 8 percent of the estimated Republican vote counted, Trump had 64 percent support to Haley's 32 percent, according to Edison Research.
Michigan is expected to play a decisive role in the US presidential election on November 5, a likely rematch between Biden and Trump.
It's a battleground state that could swing toward either party.
Biden beat Trump in Michigan by just 2.8 percentage points in the 2020 election.
But many members of Michigan's Arab American community who backed Biden in 2020 are now outraged, along with some progressive Democrats, over Biden's support for Israel's offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians.
Both White House and Biden campaign officials have traveled to Michigan in recent weeks to speak with community leaders about Israel's war in Gaza and how the US president has approached the conflict, but those leaders, along with the organizers of the “uncommitted” effort, have not been intimidated.
That push, led by groups like Listen to Michigan, which began in earnest just weeks ago, has been backed by officials like Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman in Congress, and former Rep. Andy Levin.
I heard Michigan say they were pleased with the early results.
“Our movement was victorious tonight and greatly exceeded our expectations,” the group said in a statement on the war in Gaza.”
