President Joe Biden could face growing backlash over his support for aid to Israel as efforts to get Democrats to vote “no compromise” in the presidential primaries intensify ahead of Super Tuesday, when fifteen states and one territory They will hold elections next week.
It comes after the president received fierce condemnation from some Democrats in Michigan, where more than 101,000 voters selected “uncommitted” instead of voting 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 for Biden, who won the crucial state in 2020 against Donald Trump by just over 150,000 votes and has trailed the former president in the recent battle status. center.
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 will weigh in.
While the call for Democrats to vote “uncommitted” is not expected to have a major impact in many of the Super Tuesday states, campaigns are already underway to get Democrats to do so in some states.
Abandon Biden campaign volunteer in Michigan. Some supporters have urged voters to follow Michigan and vote “uncommitted” in the races taking place on Super Tuesday.
In Minnesota, supporters of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza are calling on Democrats to vote “no compromise” on Biden on Tuesday.
“We are very hopeful that many people who are going to come out will do so 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 are home to a thriving predominantly Somali Muslim population.
The 5th District, which includes Minneapolis, also elected one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s support for Israel. DailyMail.com contacted her office to ask if she supports the “uncommitted” voting effort.
Minnesota elects 92 delegates to this summer’s convention.
In Colorado, another campaign to vote “uncommitted” on Tuesday is also underway. The Red Palestine Coalition launched its effort with the slogan ‘we say no! to Joe’s genocide” and urge Democrats to send a message to the president that they will not “remain silent” while he supports funding Israel.
Voters in California don’t have the option to vote “uncommitted” in Tuesday’s presidential primary, but according to CalMatters, state leaders with CAIR are urging voters to leave the space blank rather than vote for Biden as they continue to vote. against in the primaries. .
A week after Super Tuesday, Washington will also hold its Democratic presidential primaries. The executive board of the state’s largest union, UFCW 3000, unanimously backed the move to vote “uncommitted” in the upcoming primary.
“Currently, many voters and the UFCW 3000 executive board feel that the best path to having the best candidate and defeating Trump is to vote ‘no compromise’ in the upcoming Washington primary on March 12,” they said in a statement. “The hope is that this will strengthen the Democratic Party’s final candidate to defeat Trump in the November general election.”
He added that once the Democratic National Convention takes place, the union is committed to supporting the Democratic candidate “to win and defeat Trump.”
Supporters of ‘non-committed’ vote protest campaign against US support for Israel ahead of Democratic presidential primary in Michigan
Uncommitted received 13.2% of the vote in the Michigan Democratic primary and will send 2 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in August.
In Michigan, more than 101,000 voters, 13.2 percent, chose “uncommitted” over Biden in the Democratic presidential primary. It was enough for the “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 polls conducted by CAIR, only 4.6 percent of Muslim Democratic Party voters in the state reported voting for Biden on Tuesday, while 94 percent voted “uncommitted.”
“Based on our exit polling and our interactions with Muslim voters, it appears that President Biden’s staunch 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 people coming out and making their voices heard. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that the president still received more than 80 percent of the party’s votes.
Jean-Pierre said they understand how “personal this is, how incredibly painful this moment is” and that they will continue to have conversations and engage with the Muslim and Arab American community.
President Biden said he remains “hopeful” about a ceasefire despite complications after more than 100 people were killed at a food distribution site in Gaza where Israeli troops opened fire.
Last Monday, Biden said he hoped a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could go into effect this week, but on Thursday, the president said the ceasefire likely won’t happen on Monday as he predicted amid reports of killings by part of Israel. Palestinians waiting for food. Biden said he still has “hope.”
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 the dead were trampled in a stampede for food and troops opened fire upon feeling endangered.
The United States carried out the first airdrop of aid to Gaza on Saturday as hunger intensifies.
Administration officials also said that Israel has essentially endorsed the framework for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement and that it is now up to Hamas to reach an agreement.