President Joe Biden has won the Democrat primary race in Michigan despite a coalition of Arab-American voters vowing to punish the Democrat president over his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Associated Press (AP) called the race for President Biden on Tuesday evening:
BREAKING: Donald Trump and Joe Biden win their primaries in Michigan. https://t.co/HqtbZJbCad
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 28, 2024
While Biden won his primary, it demonstrates what could be a huge issue down the road given the number of uncommitted voters essentially voting against the Democrat incumbent. As of 9:15 p.m. Eastern, with 14 percent of the votes in, uncommitted voters totaled over 20,000 of the ballots cast, comprising 15.8 percent of the vote. Those figures, however, continue to fluctuate as votes are counted.
As a result of Biden’s handling of the conflict, Democrat Muslim voters in Michigan planned to vote “uncommitted” in the primary race. But even some Democrats who are concerned, such as Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI), urged them not to withhold support from Biden and cast an undecided ballot.
“I share some of these concerns that the community has raised, I’ll be transparent about that,” he said, adding, “Abstaining from the choice does not move us forward and does not get these issues addressed.”
This movement, the #AbandonBiden campaign, appeared to start in December over Biden’s refusal to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
As Breitbart News reported at the time:
During a press conference in Michigan, about a dozen leaders from swing states Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania vowed not to vote for him, accusing him of abandoning Muslim Americans who helped him win in 2020.
“Muslim Americans have come together finally to state in completely clear terms that the position of the Biden administration … is a red line for all Muslim Americans,” said Hassan Abdel Salam, leader of the #AbandonBiden National Coalition and assistant professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota.
Khalid Turaani, a community leader in Michigan, vowed to make Biden a one-term president “because of his stance on the genocide in Gaza.”
A demonstrator holding a sign with “Genocide Joe, You Lost My Vote” written on it, gathers in front of the White House during the National March on Washington. (Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“And we make sure of that. Now we’re going to make sure that by announcing now that we’re going to abandon Biden, we’re going to punish him by making them one term president,” Turaani said.
“We’re going to mobilize and we’re going to expand the alliance of people who want to abandon Joe Biden because of his stance on the genocide in Gaza,” Turaani added.
Earlier this month, former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, now a Biden campaign co-chair, tried to combat the #AbandonBiden campaign, telling voters Biden is attempting to protect American interests and focused on getting hostages released.
Democratic strategist James Carville is among those who have warned that the uncommitted protest vote against Biden will be a “huge problem” for the 81 year old.
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