United States President Joe Biden has won the Democratic presidential primary in the state of Michigan, according to media projections, but early counts showed he faced noticeable opposition over his support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
In Michigan, which is home to a large Arab-American constituency, Democratic voters had been urged to mark their primary ballots as “uncommitted” on Tuesday in protest of Biden’s Gaza policy.With 25 percent of the votes counted, Biden had 80 percent support, with “uncommitted” getting 14.5 percent, according to The Associated Press news agency.
The latter amounts to 33,000 ballots so far, a number higher than the goal of 10,000 set by organisers of the protest vote.Michigan routinely offers an “uncommitted” option as a way of questioning whether a named candidate has the support of the party’s base.
Former US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, won the Republican presidential primary in Michigan by a large margin, according to projections, further strengthening his grip on the party’s White House nomination as Nikki Haley, his last remaining rival, came in a distant second.
Michigan is expected to play a decisive role in the head-to-head November presidential election, a likely rematch between Biden and Trump.It is a battleground state that could swing towards either party.Biden beat Trump in Michigan by just 2.8 percentage points in the 2020 election.
Many in 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, which has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians.
