President Biden faced a challenging test in the Michigan Democratic primary as tens of thousands of voters cast protest ballots for the “uncommitted” option in response to Biden’s support for Israel during its conflict with Gaza.
While Biden received around 80% of the vote, the large number of protest ballots – estimated at over 50,000 votes or 14% as of election night – was worrying for Biden in an important swing state.
The protest campaign demonstrated broader dissatisfaction with Biden’s Middle East policies beyond just Arab American voters.
Michigan Democrat Rep. Debbie Dingell said people “are watching innocent civilians being killed,” in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump easily won the Republican primary as expected, but Nikki Haley received between 25-30% of the vote, showing continued resistance to Trump among some Republicans.
Trump celebrated, “the numbers are far greater than we even anticipated.”
Haley recently said that Trump is “not bringing people into the party — he’s pushing people out of the party.”
She added that she will “absolutely” remain in the race.
Both Biden and Trump showed vulnerabilities through the primaries, but it remains uncertain how these weaknesses may impact the general election.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said over 1 million Michigan citizens “had cast their ballots before any polls opened today.”
Benson said “given that this was a primary election where arguably the contests on either side of the aisle were not as competitive as they have been in years past, comparatively.”
