Campaign to vote ‘uncommitted’ exceeds expectations in Michigan Democratic primary
The campaign to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic primary wildly exceeded expectations on Tuesday, picking up more than 13% of the votes.
Former Congressman Andy Levin addresses a crowd at a rally in Dearborn on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in support of the campaign to vote "uncommitted" in Michigan's Democratic primary.
Organizers behind the “Listen to Michigan” campaign to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s presidential primary wildly exceeded their own expectations, picking up more than 13% of the votes in Tuesday’s Democratic race.
The grassroots movement encouraged voters who are against Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza to cast an “uncommitted” vote as a way of sending a message to President Joe Biden, who has pledged unwavering support for Israel throughout the conflict.
The group had hoped to get 10,000 votes, which they easily surpassed with more than 101,000. Now, the “uncommitted” campaign has enough primary election votes to send two delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer, the Associated Press reports.
At a rally in Dearborn Tuesday night, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said the president has been softening his rhetoric, but with Palestinians dying daily in the conflict, he needs to back that up with action.
“What we need is a complete withdrawal of support for the most radical and tyrannical government in Israel’s history,” Hammoud said.
State Representative Alabas Farhat says the campaign was a success even before voters went to the polls.
”It’s a coalition that really reflects what America looks like; it’s a coalition of young Gen Z voters, it’s a coalition of older voters, its coalition of Christians and Jews and Muslims,” he said.
In Hamtramck and Dearborn, “uncommitted” received more votes than President Biden. Still, despite the campaign’s success, Biden cruised to victory with more than 618,000 votes.
In the Republican primary, former President Donald Trump garnered roughly 68.2% of the votes — nearly 757,000 — with Nikki Haley getting 26.6%, almost 295,000 votes. That’s a sharp decline from 2020 when Trump picked up 94% of the primary votes in Michigan.
Read more:
- Michigan presidential primary 2024 results
- Does the presidential primary system reflect the will of the voters?
- Created Equal: Why the order of state presidential primaries matter
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