The support of American Muslims and Arabs for Biden declined as the number of Palestinian civilian martyrs increased in Israel’s war on Gaza (Getty)

Washington -

Unlike the case of states that had previously witnessed primary elections, President Joe Biden’s campaign did not celebrate his victory last night in the state of Michigan, as Biden lost the votes of more than 100,000 Democratic voters who voted “Uncommitted” by 13.2%. Or the equivalent of 102,000 voters, with approximately 85% of the votes counted.

This percentage is a victory for the movement not to vote for Biden against the backdrop of his full support for the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

The results of the Michigan primary elections not only reflected an assessment of President Biden's strength in one of the most important swing states that represents a major battleground against his rival, Republican candidate Donald Trump, but will also serve as a decisive test of the price of Biden's refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Unlike the states that had previously witnessed primary elections, President Joe Biden's campaign did not celebrate his victory last night in the state of Michigan, as Biden lost the votes of more than 100,000 Democratic voters who voted "uncommitted" by 13.2%, or the equivalent of 102%. One thousand voters, with approximately 85% of the votes counted.

Biden's strong support for Israel angered a large bloc of Muslims and Arab Americans, especially in the city of Dearborn, home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the United States.

It is worth noting that in the 2020 election, only approximately 20,000 Democratic voters voted “Unconformist,” (which constituted only 1% of the total Democratic vote that year).

16% of Democratic voters in Michigan chose “non-committed” against Biden (French)

What is a non-committal vote?

Each party's list of candidates included boxes with the names of the candidates, in addition to an "Uncommitted" box.

When a voter chooses “Uncommitted,” it means that he or she is exercising a partisan vote, that is, he is voting Democratic, but is not committed to any of the candidates on the ballot.

Among those who voted "non-committal" was the representative of Palestinian origin, Rashida Tlaib, who said in a video clip, "Hello everyone, I am Rashida. I was proud today because I entered and withdrew a ballot for the Democratic Party, and I vote without commitment."

"We must protect our democracy, and we must make sure that our government takes care of us," she added.

Tlaib took the initiative to support Listen Michigan, a group that supports protests against Biden in the primaries.

"When 74% of Democrats in Michigan support a ceasefire, and President Biden doesn't hear us, this is the way we can use our democracy to say listen to us," Tlaib continued.

The “non-compliant” campaign organizers hope that if they can reduce Biden’s margin of victory in Michigan, they can pressure him to change course and use his influence with the Israeli government to stop its aggression.

If uncommitted voting exceeds 15% in any congressional district, or statewide as a whole, Michigan will send at least some delegates to the Democratic National Convention in August who have not pledged to vote for Biden.

Representative of Palestinian origins, Rashida Tlaib, votes “non-committal” (Associated Press)

Promoting Biden

Michigan's elections differed from other primaries so far, as they served as a referendum on Biden's support for Israel in its aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Democratic voter of Egyptian origin, Essam Al-Rifai, lives in the Dearborn area and previously voted for Biden in the 2020 elections. He voted “non-committed” yesterday, and said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, “I think it is a great opportunity to deliver a message to the Biden administration that people here in Michigan are concerned about... What is happening in Gaza, and that there is a large group of people who want a ceasefire, while Biden has rejected that so far.”

The past days and weeks witnessed visits by a number of officials from the President’s administration to urge leaders of the Arab and Islamic community to vote for Biden in the primary elections, and they also spoke to voters whose support is crucial in a state that Biden must win next November if he wants to win a second term. .

The administration's efforts were unsuccessful in its attempt to mobilize voters, despite their promotion of Biden's record and warning of the consequences of Republican candidate Trump reaching the White House again.

Abed Ayoub, director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, tweeted on the X website, and said after the end of voting, “Dearborn city voting results: Not committed (3,703 votes) by 75% of the total voters. While Joe Biden received 1,141 votes (23%).” "There is a big change happening in Michigan. Washington experts are wrong again."

Protest voting in Michigan by Arab and Muslim voters raises concerns for Democrats (Anatolia)

Listen to Michigan

Organizers of Listen Michigan, the group behind the Vote Unconformity effort, were looking to win 10,000 votes, equal to Trump's margin of victory in the state in the 2016 election.

Leaders of the Arab and Islamic American community in the state explained that non-compliant voting is the appropriate alternative to justify their feeling once again that they are not influential and unimportant by the American administration.

Although Biden won the state in 2020 by about 150,000 votes, the margin of victory was much narrower in 2016, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by about 11,000 votes.

The group leading the protest campaign said it hoped to get at least that number of votes, aiming to send a message to Biden's campaign about the domestic political costs of his stance on a conflict that is increasingly being referred to as genocide.

Biden during his election campaign in 2020 (social networking sites)

Biden and changing course

Biden cannot afford to lose the votes of Arabs and Muslims in Michigan, which has become one of the most important swing states in next November's elections.

The state of Michigan is home to more than 300,000 Americans of Middle Eastern origin, and this number does not include other groups that do not agree with the war in Gaza, especially young people and minorities.

At the same time, a number of Democratic commentators believe that Arab and Muslim voters will not risk not voting for Biden because they believe that his rival, Donald Trump, will be much worse than him, as he pledged to prevent refugees from Gaza from entering the United States, and suggested allowing the Israeli aggression to continue until its goals are achieved.

Source: Al Jazeera