Tonight is the Michigan primary and unlike previous primaries where we were specifically paying attention to the REPUBLICAN side, this one has an interest on the DEMOCRATIC side as well!
Michigan has a significant population of people with Middle Eastern or North African heritage:
“Biden narrowly won Michigan in 2020 by some 150,000 votes – less than half of the amount of people in the state who cited Middle Eastern or North African ancestry in the 2020 census.”
Going into this primary, there is a movement to convince these folks to vote “Uncommitted” rather than for Biden in order to send a message over his policies for Gaza and Israel.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68409546
Of course, the last time we saw a similar move was in the Nevada Republican primary where Nikki Haley was running effectively unopposed. Trump supporters, voting in the caucus rather than the primary, were encouraged to vote “None of these candidates” in the primary.
That result?
None of These Candidates - 50,763 - 63.3%
Nikki Haley - 24,583 - 30.6%
Mike Pence - 3,091 - 3.9%
Tim Scott - 1,081 - 1.4%
John Castro - 270 - 0.3%
Will the “Uncommitted” push in Michigan be as successful as the 2:1 showing for “None of the Above” in Nevada?
Stay tuned!
Edit 99% Democrats reporting, Biden and Trump projected as the winners, no surprise.
Uncommitted Democrats - 101,100 - 13.3%
99% Republican ballots counted.
Uncommitted - 33,404 votes - 3%
So across both parties, around 134,000 or so “uncommitted”.
Seems that uncommitted votes drop, but Biden seems to be reaching around 80%. I do have to wonder whether other candidates vote can be added to uncommitted vote to count as a protest vote. I think I will add them to the bucket of protest votes.
For the Democratic Party, I don’t think that’s bad news, actually. Most of them will still vote for President Biden, and this is a way to send a message without ruining it in the general, which I’m all for.
Some questions, how many voted uncommitted just to spite Biden, and others voted just to signal that they don’t like his Middle East policies? I’m pretty sure a lot of people who don’t like his middle east policies will vote for Biden because it’s not about him, but democracy in the end.