Biden survives ‘uncommitted’ Democratic protest vote over Gaza to win Michigan primary

President Joe Biden survived plans by progressives and Arab-Americans to vote “uncommitted” in protest of his support for Israel to win the Michigan primary on Tuesday evening.

Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab-American populations in the country, specifically located in Dearborn, just outside of Detroit. Many Arab-Americans have expressed dissatisfaction toward Mr Biden regarding his support for Israel in its response to Hamas in Gaza after Hamas staged a surprise attack on October 7, killed 1,200 people and took numerous hostages.

Arab-Americans make up about two per cent of Michigan’s population and many have loved ones who have either died or otherwise been affected by Israel’s assault on Gaza that has so far killed more than 29,000,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children. In turn, many said they planned to vote “uncommitted” rather than support Mr Biden or Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips in the primary.

Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American congresswoman, urged Michiganders to vote uncommitted while Mr Biden enjoyed the support of many of the Democratic leadership in the state including the state’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The primary also served as an important bellwether given Michigan’s outsized prominence in the general election. Donald Trump became the first Republican to win the state on the presidential level since 1988 in 2016, but Mr Biden put it back in the Democratic column in 2020.

Since then, Michigan’s state legislature has flipped and Democrats stand a solid chance of holding the Senate seat held by the retiring Debbie Stabenow.

Source link