A crucial Democratic voting bloc in Michigan is leading the charge for a protest vote in Tuesday’s primary election against US President Joe Biden for his support of Israel in its war against Hamas.
Listen to Michigan, which describes itself as a multiracial and multifaith anti-war campaign, is spearheading the "Vote Uncommitted" effort, which encourages voters to show up to the polls and check off "uncommitted" on the ballot instead of Biden.
Michigan is home to the country’s second-largest Middle Eastern and North African population, according to US census data, with Wayne County having the highest percentage in any US county. Wayne County is home to the cities of Detroit and Dearborn, where much of the “Vote Uncommitted” effort is taking place.
"In recent months, a critical question has plagued residents of Michigan: how to make our voices heard when President Biden officials ignore our pleas. This sentiment is deeply felt in the Detroit and Dearborn area, where the community is acutely aware of the devastation in Gaza - a crisis we feel intimately connected to, as it impacts our friends, families, and broader communities," according to Listen to Michigan's website.
“Michigan voters are sending Biden a clear message in the February 27 Democratic primary that he can count us out. We are filling out the UNCOMMITTED bubble, because we strongly reject Biden’s funding war and genocide in Gaza,” according to the website. “Uncommitted Michigan Democrats opposed to Biden’s policy in Gaza can demonstrate that we hold his margin of victory for re-election.”
Biden must earn their votes through a dramatic policy change, according to the website.
"President Biden has been a successful candidate in the past by representing a broad coalition, but right now he’s not representing the vast majority of Democrats who want a ceasefire and an end to his funding of Israel’s war in Gaza. He’s not representing the young people who put him in office and turned out in the midterms — and are now out protesting his policies in the streets," the website said.
Family ties in Michigan's political scape
Listen To Michigan’s campaign manager, Layla Elabed, is Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s sister.Tlaib (D-Michigan) represents part of Dearborn and the majority of Dearborn Heights. Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American member of Congress and a leading voice in the call for a ceasefire movement. Both Tlaib and Elabed did not return The Jerusalem Post’s request for comment.Tlaib encouraged Michiganders to vote uncommitted in a video posted on Listen to Michigan’s Instagram.“It is important as you all know, to not only march against the genocide, not only make sure that we’re calling our members of Congress and local elected officials and passing city resolutions all throughout our country, it’s also important to create a voting bloc, something that has a bullhorn to say, enough is enough,” Tlaib said in the video. “We don’t want a country that supports bombs and destruction. We want to support life. We want to stand up for every single life killed in Gaza.”“I want you to think of all of the amazing young children and the people whose lives were lost, and this is the way you can raise our voices don’t make us even more invisible. Right now we feel completely neglected, neglected and just unseen by our government,” Tlaib said. “If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote uncommitted.”
Listen to Michigan and supporting organizations are driving their message on social media and through phone banking.Dearborn’s Mayor Abdullah Hammoud published an op-ed in The New York Times on Tuesday explaining why he’s voting uncommitted.“I, like many of my fellow Americans, cannot in good conscience support the continuation of a genocide. This has weighed heavy on my heart, particularly as the presidential primary election in Michigan has drawn near. It is for that reason that I will be checking the box for “uncommitted” on my presidential primary ballot next Tuesday. In doing so, I am choosing hope,” Hammoud wrote.However, Jewish Democrats expressed confidence in Michigan’s Arab voters showing up to the polls in November in support of Biden regardless of how they vote in the primary, banking on the shared threat of another Republican Trump presidency as the driving factor.The Post spoke to a Biden campaign official in Michigan who declined to provide a comment on the matter.Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer told the Post that voting “uncommitted” is playing with fire.JDCA endorsed Biden early on in the campaign and is leading efforts to galvanize Jewish Democratic support for him.Soifer adamantly said that any effort to deflect or divert Democratic support for Biden is effectively electing Trump.Those who want Biden to win in November should absolutely support him in the primary, she said.With Rashida Tlaib leading this effort, it’s almost guaranteed that Jewish voters in Michigan will not be listening, Soifer said.“Jewish voters are overwhelmingly not just supportive of Joe Biden, but very happy with his strong support of Israel in the aftermath of October 7. His approval of the way he’s handling this war transcends partisan divides,” Soifer said. “Not only will Jewish voters, whether they be in Michigan, or frankly any other state, be strongly supportive of Joe Biden in their primary, but they will also support him in the general.”“We’ve seen it happen in 2016 in Michigan and we don’t want to see it happen again,” Soifer said, referencing Bernie Sanders who won the primary. Trump won Michigan in 2016 by just over 10,000 votes, Soifer said, which was due to turnout. Biden won Michigan in 2020 by over 150,000 votes.Soifer described former president Trump as a threat to the shared values, security, and freedoms of the Jewish and Arab communities in Michigan.While Soifer thinks the “Vote Uncommitted” movement isn’t going to gain much traction, she said the aftermath of the movement is dangerous for Democrats.“For those who have voted uncommitted as perhaps a protest vote, what will they do in the general? Are they going to do it again in the general?” Soifer said. “Because as I said, either a non-vote, or a vote for a third-party candidate or position, in this case, is a vote for Donald Trump. And we’ve seen it happen before in Michigan.”Soifer said Democrats can bring protest voters back to support Biden in November by talking about shared policy priorities and shared threats emanating from MAGA extremism.