President Joe Biden could face growing backlash over his support for aid to Israel as efforts to get Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ in the presidential primaries ramp up heading into Super Tuesday when fifteen states and one territory hold contests next week.
It comes after the president received fierce condemnation from some Democrats in Michigan where more than 101,000 voters selected ‘uncommitted’ rather than cast a ballot for the president in the state’s primary as Israel wages war in Gaza.
While the Democratic presidential primary is not considered competitive with a sitting president, the vote in Michigan served as a warning to Biden who won the crucial state in 2020 against Donald Trump by just over 150,000 votes and has been trailing the former president in recent battleground state polls.
On Super Tuesday, Democratic voters in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and American Samoa get their say.
While the call for Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ is not expected to have a major impact in many of the Super Tuesday states, campaigns to get Democrats to do so in some states are already underway.
In Minnesota, supporters of an immediate cease-fire in Gaza are calling for Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ over Biden on Tuesday.
‘We’re very hopeful that many people who are going to come out are going to come out because they want to send a strong message to President Biden,’ said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Minnesota in a local interview.
The Twin Cities in particular is home of a thriving Muslim population predominantly from Somalia.
The fifth district which includes Minneapolis also elected one of the first two Muslim women to Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s support for Israel. DailyMail.com reached out to her office to inquire whether she supports the ‘uncommitted’ vote effort.
Minnesota elects 92 delegates for the convention this summer.
In Colorado, another campaign to vote ‘uncommitted’ on Tuesday is also afoot. The Colorado Palestine Coalition launched their effort with the slogan ‘we say no! to genocide Joe’ and are urging Democrats to send a message to the president that they will not ‘remain silent’ while he supports funding for Israel.
Voters in California do not have the option to vote ‘uncommitted’ in the presidential primary on Tuesday, but according to CalMatters, state leaders with CAIR are urging voters to leave the space blank rather than vote for Biden while still voting down ballot in the primary.
One week past Super Tuesday, Washington will also hold its Democratic presidential primary. The state’s largest labor union UFCW 3000’s executive board unanimously endorsed the movement to vote ‘uncommitted’ in the upcoming primary.
‘Currently, many voters, and UFCW 3000 executive board, feel that the best path to have the best nominee, and to defeat Trump, is to vote “uncommitted” on the upcoming March 12 Washington primary,’ they said in a statement. ‘The hope is that this will strengthen the Democratic party’s ultimate nominee to defeat Trump in the General Election in November.’
It added that once the Democratic National Convention takes place, the union is committed to supporting the Democratic nominee ‘to win and defeat Trump.’
In Michigan, more than 101,000 voters, 13.2 percent, selected ‘uncommitted’ rather than for Biden in the Democratic presidential primary. It was enough for ‘uncommitted’ to send two delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer in Chicago.
Michigan is home to the largest Arab American population in the country. According to exit polling conducted by CAIR, only 4.6 percent of Muslims Democratic Party voters in the state reported voting for Biden on Tuesday while 94 percent voted ‘uncommitted.’
‘Based on our exit poll and our interactions with Muslim voters, it appears that President Biden’s unconditional support for the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza is likely playing a decisive factor in impacting his support within the Muslim and Arab-American communities,’ CAIR government affairs director Robert McCaw said.
In response to a question about the ‘uncommitted’ vote in Michigan, the White House said the president appreciates the people coming out and having their voices heard. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted the president still received more than 80 percent of the party’s vote.
Jean-Pierre said they understand how ‘personal this is, how this moment is incredibly painful’ and will continue to have conversations and engage with the Muslim and Arab American community.
Last Monday, Biden said he hopes a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas could take effect as early as this week, but by Thursday, the president said the cease-fire probably won’t happen on Monday as he predicted amid reports of Israel killing Palestinians waiting for food. Biden said he still remains ‘hopeful.’
Witnesses accused the IDF of opening fire on a crowd of Palestinians that left more than 100 dead near Gaza City, but Israel said many of those killed were trampled in a stampede for the food and the troops opened fire upon feeling endangered.
The U.S. carried out the first airdrop of aid into Gaza on Saturday as the hunger intensifies.
Administration officials also said Israel has essentially endorsed the framework for a cease-fire and hostage release deal and it is now up to Hamas to agree.
