(RepublicanNews.org) – Pres. Biden’s Michigan victory was marred by a protest vote that centered around his support for Israel in its efforts to destroy Hamas in Gaza following the terrorist group’s October 7th massacre on Israeli soil that saw 1200 dead, with a further 250, including children, taken hostage.
Although Biden won the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan with nearly 80% of the vote, approximately 16% of votes were for “uncommitted”. In contrast, Biden’s Democratic rivals trailed behind, with Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips each achieving less than 3% of the vote.
Michigan is the state with the highest percentage of Arab-Americans, a group that largely supported Biden during his 2020 campaign but is beginning to turn its back on him as a result of the war in Gaza. As Israel continues its offensive in Gaza with the stated aim of dismantling Hamas, which has vowed to repeat the mass rape and slaughter of October 7th, many Arab-Americans and their supporters have demanded that US politicians support a total cease-fire in Gaza. In one part of Dearborn, Michigan, signs telling people where to cast their vote were translated into Arabic, and volunteers gave out leaflets encouraging voters to “abandon Biden”.
The campaign group Listen to Michigan, which urged voters to opt for “uncommitted” rather than Biden, says that their message to Biden has been clear. They say he must call for a permanent cease-fire, with spokesman Abbas Alawieh accusing Israel of war crimes in the conflict. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, the war has claimed the lives of nearly 30,000 Gazans. The protest has been lauded by many pro-Palestinian figures, including Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents parts of Detroit.
Biden has previously expressed concerns about the number of civilian deaths, which Israel argues it tries to avoid where possible, but so far he has backed Israel’s right to defend itself. Mitch Landrieu, national co-chair for Biden’s re-election campaign, said that Biden’s victory in Michigan was “strong”, but that the president had indeed “gotten the message” from the “uncommitted” campaign. He said that Biden’s aims included working towards a ceasefire and securing the return of the remaining surviving hostages.
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