Trump defeats rival, Biden faces 'non-commits' in Michigan primaries
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After counting 10% of the votes in the Democratic primary elections, 16.3% of Michigan voters cast their ballots as "non-committed," representing a significant rebuke to US President Joe Biden.
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march during a visit by President Joe Biden in Warren, Mich., on February 1, 2024. (AP)
Initial results indicated that both US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump are maintaining strong leads.
According to Edison Research, with 10% of the estimated Democratic vote tallied, Biden secured 79% support and 16% "non-committed" votes.
Similarly, with 8% of the estimated Republican vote counted, Trump garnered 64% support compared to Haley's 32%.
Michigan routinely provides a "non-committed" option as a means to gauge the support of the party's base for named candidates. However, it remains unclear how many of those votes were in protest of Biden's Gaza policy.
Read next: Swing-state Michigan Rep. says Biden admin. never reached out on Gaza
Before the primary, a report by Politico on Friday detailed that some Democrats in Michigan fear that President Biden's campaign underestimates the discontent among Arab American and young voters over his response to the war on Gaza.
"I'm still surprised that they're not taking this more seriously," state Sen. Darrin Camilleri told Politico. "I feel like this is 2016 all over again," he added while referring to Donald Trump's electoral victory that year. "It feels like our national party is not listening to our issues on the ground. If the president doesn’t change course, I would not be surprised if Biden loses the state [in November]."
Another source confirmed to Politico that Democrats are indeed "in trouble," and the ongoing violence in Gaza may affect Biden's chances of winning back voters.
