GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — The votes are in for Michigan's presidential primary.
In the Republican race, where former President Donald Trump was widely expected to secure victory, he defeated former South Carolina Governor and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley by more than 40 percentage points.
But it was on the Democratic ballot where Michigan saw what was perhaps the most unexpected development of the night, as voters cast their ballots for the "uncommitted" in a larger number than many expected.
The push to vote "uncommitted" was largely organized by those angered with President Biden's handling of the war in Gaza.
In recent days, the Listen to Michigan campaign had signaled that just 10,000 "uncommitted" votes could send a message to the administration.
In the end, the protest received more than 10 times that amount. As of Wednesday afternoon, with 99% of the estimated statewide vote having been counted, "uncommitted" had received more than 100,000 votes on the Democratic ballot.
"In less than two weeks, and with a shoestring budget by the way, we got over 100,000 - 100,000 votes that demonstrated that this is not just an Arab and Muslim issue, it's a people issue," Listen to Michigan spokesperson Lexis Zeidan said Wednesday.
These voters' anger has grown from what they see as too much support from the Biden administration for the Israeli government's military response to the Oct. 7 attacks from Hamas. It's a response that they believe has shown too little regard for Palestinians living in Gaza, as more than 29,000 had been killed as of earlier this month, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
"We sent a very clear message to President Biden that this community here in Michigan needs him to change his policies before he comes and asks for our votes," Listen to Michigan spokesperson Abbas Alawieh said.
While "uncommitted" had its largest shares of the overall vote in areas with larger Arab American populations like Wayne and Washtenaw Counties - home to Dearborn and Ann Arbor, respectfully - organizers heralded what they described as a multi-religious, multi-racial and multi-generational movement.
"We have had a diverse coalition behind the 'vote uncommitted' movement - a coalition that was inclusive of the Jewish community, the Black community, the Asian American community, the young community, the old community, social workers, teachers, union workers, all who are saying that we are pro-peace and anti-war," Zeidan said. "All are saying that we want a permanent ceasefire."
As results began to be counted Tuesday night, Biden allies spoke out as the proportion of "uncommitted" votes remained to be determined.
In a statement released by her Fight Like Hell PAC about 30 minutes after the last polls closed at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, top Michigan Biden surrogate and state Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that "Michigan is proud of its rich diversity of backgrounds, ideologies, and cultures," while also expressing staunch support for the current president.
"Joe Biden brought the supply chain back to Michigan, lowered costs, made insulin more affordable for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders who need it, and has worked to protect and expand access to reproductive freedom," Whitmer said. "Donald Trump would ban abortion nationwide, ship auto jobs back to China, and pit us against each other. He proposed a Muslim ban and did whatever he could to undercut Michiganders’ fundamental freedoms. In Michigan, it’s time to come together and go full steam ahead to November for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and we will continue getting the word out every day about what’s at stake.”
Whitmer's statement did not make specific mention of the "uncommitted" protest vote.
Listen to Michigan organizers said Wednesday said they had also been contacted by others in Minnesota and Washington state, meaning the push for "uncommitted" could continue on, as it remains to be seen how this protest could translate into challenges for Biden in November.
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