President Biden's victory in the Michigan Democratic primary was never in doubt. However, some voters took the opportunity to express their disdain for the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza and their support of Israel.
The message from the anti-Biden Democrats seems clear, change course on Israel and Hamas or suffer the consequences.
On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that more than 100,000 votes for uncommitted were tallied on the Democratic ballot. However, Biden still maintained more than 80% of the Democrat ballots with nearly 618,000 votes cast in his favor.
The group "Listen to Michigan" led the push to vote uncommitted in the primary as a protest vote.
The group, and thousands of Arab Americans and their allies, are pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza in the conflict's fifth month following an assault on southern Israel that resulted in 1,200 deaths and the kidnapping of 250 others.
What Does Michigan Have To Say?
Almost 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed.
"We have led a movement that is far exceeding expectations, using the ballot box to urge America to stop killing our families," said Listen to Michigan spokesperson and Democratic strategist Abbas Alawieh at a watch party in Dearborn, Mich.
"That's all we're asking for. Just stop killing our families," he added. Dearborn has been at the center of this movement, where more than half the population is of Middle Eastern or North African descent.
"This coalition is one that wants to bring the morality back to this country because somewhere along the line, we have lost it," said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud at the watch party Tuesday night.
"We will be that movement to bring [elected officials] back in line, if not with this primary election, then with November," he added. The original goal of the campaign was to garner 10,000 votes, which was the approximate margin of victory of Donald Trump when he defeated Hillary Clinton.
