Biden critics look to replicate Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote in other states

Organizers are pushing for Democratic voters to select or write in “uncommitted” on their ballots in upcoming primaries, spurred on by the success of a campaign in Michigan protesting President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

More than 100,000 Michiganders cast a protest vote against Biden for an “uncommitted” ballot option in Tuesday’s primary, underscoring the frustration many Americans feel toward the administration amid growing calls for a cease-fire.

Now activists are pushing for similar protest votes in states including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Washington as they seek to dial up pressure on Biden to heed their calls or risk losing their votes.

“What is clear is that our president has a choice before him,” Dearborn, Mich., Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said Wednesday in a press conference for the “uncommitted” push. “He has the choice to continue supporting and aligning himself with a war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu, in the most tyrannical government in Israel’s history. Or he has the choice to heed the concerns of residents … not only in the state of Michigan, but across this country, from coast to coast.”

Organizers for Listen to Michigan, the campaign behind the “uncommitted” vote this week, said they have heard of similar efforts in other state looking to send a message of warning to the president that he could lose their votes in November if he doesn’t change his position on the Gaza conflict.

“We are going to be talking to other states that are looking for a unifying vehicle to send the same message to Joe Biden,” Layla Elabed, campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, said during a Wednesday press call. “This issue of Gaza is not just a Michigan issue, it is an issue across the United States. So our plan is to work with other coalitions like Listen to Michigan.”

Biden easily won Michigan’s Democratic primary Tuesday, ending the night with more than 80 percent of the vote, according to the latest projections from Decision Desk HQ. But “uncommitted” came in second place, surpassing Biden’s long-shot challengers to reach around 13 percent and win two delegates.

The efforts are the product of deep anger from Arab Americans and progressives over the Biden administration’s handling of the war, which began after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel in October, killing some 1,200 and taking more than 200 hostage. Israel responded violently, and the conflict has since resulted in more than 29,000 deaths in Gaza, according to United Nations numbers.

“Last night’s uncommitted vote exceeded our expectations,” said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, a progressive political organizing group originally founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that got behind the Michigan effort. “Such a strong showing indicates the depth of anger within the Democratic party base, in particular among key constituencies: young people, voters of color, progressives.”

The pressure is intended to change policy, Geevarghese said, but it’s also giving “political advice” to Biden amid the conflict in the Middle East.  

Biden has expressed “unwavering” support for Israel, and the U.S. hasn’t acted on loudening calls for a cease-fire, though the White House has said it wants Israel’s operation to be more targeted to protect civilians. Biden said before Tuesday’s primary that a cease-fire could come as soon as next Monday, but the Palestinian militant group Hamas suggested that was premature.

In a statement on Tuesday’s primary results, the president made no direct mention of the “uncommitted” effort but thanked “every Michigander who made their voice heard today.”

The push isn’t expected to have an impact on Biden’s cruise toward the nomination, but it could prove a warning sign as the race heads to the general.

“The Biden campaign needs to understand that if they don’t change course on Gaza, it is going to be difficult for progressive groups like Our Revolution to get out the vote,” Geevarghese said. 

But if there’s “real, meaningful movement” from the administration, “it’s easier for us to join forces to defeat Trump in the general,” Geevarghese said, noting, “we of course do not support Trump.”

The Listen to Michigan campaign claimed victory with their turnout Tuesday. Elabed said she’s seen a “small shift in language” from Biden after the campaign’s pressure, but that “his words are not enough.”

“We’re looking to you, President Biden. Michigan has made its move. We’ve participated. Over 100,000 of us want to know what you will do to engage us,” Abbas Alawieh, spokesperson for Listen to Michigan, said in the Wednesday press conference.

Meanwhile, a separate movement, Abandon Biden, is urging voters to reject the incumbent altogether.

“When we say ‘abandon,’ it truly and without any trepidation implies ‘abandon.’ We completely abandoned him because he abandoned us,” said Hassan Abdel Salam, a professor at the University of Minnesota and a founding organizer of the #AbandonBiden National Coalition.

For Abandon Biden, it’s not about “sending a mini-signal” with primary votes — but about getting the incumbent to lose the election in order to send a punishing message. 

“He could call a cease-fire today … and we will take every single action and path thing that we can to ensure that he loses the election on Nov. 5,” Salam said.

Though many Arab and Muslim Americans “suffered” under former President Trump, who notably enacted a “Muslim ban” in his term, Salam said he sees Biden’s actions as inexcusable even against the possibility of a second Trump term.

Now, the Abandon Biden campaign has noted efforts in more than a half-dozen other states to continue putting primary pressure on the president over the war in Gaza. 

Abandon Biden campaigns launched earlier this month in Minnesota, which votes on Super Tuesday next week; Arizona, which votes in mid-March; and Pennsylvania, which votes in late April. The movement also has its eyes on New Jersey and North Carolina, Salam said.

“What happened in Michigan sets a precedent that could galvanize even a write-in campaign with ‘uncommitted.’ … In any state where there is ‘uncommitted,’ we would want to pursue that in an aggressive way,” Salam said.

But with “uncommitted” an option in just a few other states — including Washington, Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee — the Great Lakes State’s results will be hard to replicate, said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale.

That’s because it’s typically easier to coordinate a vote for an existing option than organize a write-in. There was a push in New Hampshire’s primary last month to write in “cease-fire” as a protest vote against Biden, but the movement drew little traction, garnering just 1,500 votes, according to data from the Granite State’s secretary of state.

Michigan also boasts a unique landscape with its significant Arab American population and an “uncommitted” option to protest through — setting the stage for a strong showing, Vale said.

Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy at the center-left think tank Third Way, said Michigan’s “uncommitted” results are “not insignificant” for Biden as he tries for reelection but argued it was also a “freebie vote” largely without consequences.

“You could just register some displeasure without having to turn the election over to a tyrant like Donald Trump,” Kessler said.

As long as voters feel frustration with the administration over the issue at hand, “it’ll continue to get some votes,” Kessler said of the “uncommitted” effort. But whether voters in other states accomplish big protest vote movements or not, they’ll have to decide they also want to take a stand in the general, and risk hurting Biden in what’s likely a match-up with Trump in November.

Matt Duss, a former senior foreign policy adviser to Sanders, said he thinks voters understand the stakes of the general, and that most will confine their protest votes to a primary exercise.

“They’re using the primaries as a way to send a message to the president, but they want to win,” Duss said. “They understand the stakes of another Trump presidency. But at the same time, I think they’re using a very appropriate mechanism for signaling disagreement and, in fact, outrage at the way this war has been handled by the administration.”