Created Equal: What role would Michigan Delegates play in a contested Democratic Convention?

On the latest episode of Created Equal, host Stephen Henderson was joined by a political historian and an “uncommitted” delegate from Michigan to discuss something that hasn’t happened in a really long time during a presidential campaign – an open political convention.

As speculation rises about whether or not President Joe Biden will drop out of the race, some in the Democratic party have called for an open convention — during which delegates jockey on the floor to decide which candidate will represent the party.  

But what would an open convention actually look like, and how would it work? Professor Matt Dallek and political strategist Abbas Alawieh shared their thoughts.

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Guests:

Professor Matt Dallek is a political historian at George Washington University and the author of the book “Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right.” He compared modern political conventions to conventions held in the 1960s, when both parties started to open up to make their primary elections binding.

“Before 1968, there were a handful of primaries, they were kind of beauty contests. But the primaries were non-binding, so whoever won those primaries didn’t mean they were getting that state delegate,” said Dallek. “But after 1968, if you won, let’s say the state of Michigan in a primary, those delegates were pledged to you as a candidate. And so, it really became the choice of the primary electorate, rather than the party bosses, and that in a nutshell I think is the system we have today.”

Abbas Alawieh is an “uncommitted” Delegate for Michigan’s Democratic primary. He says President Biden will be risking the presidency if he does not changes his position surrounding Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. 

“It is an interesting moment in history that we are experiencing now,” said Alawieh. “Now there are all kinds of questions about whether the president can win, not just because of his Gaza policy, but also because of other issues that have come up following the debate; the attempted assassination we experienced over the weekend; so the question of how do we beat the hate-filled agenda that Donald Trump is putting forth, is a really important one that is on the mind of a lot of delegates I am talking to.”

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.