The White House and President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign are reportedly feeling the pressure over an initiative in Michigan encouraging Democratic voters to express their discontent with his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict by voting “Uncommitted” in the state’s presidential primary on Tuesday.
According to Politico, a Democrat close to Biden revealed, “They are freaking out about the uncommitted vote.” The campaign, named Listen to Michigan, has spearheaded the movement aimed at diverting votes from Biden in Michigan. “Michigan voters are sending Biden a clear message in the February 27 Democratic primary that he can count us out,” the campaign declared on its website. “We are filling out the UNCOMMITTED bubble because we strongly reject Biden’s funding war and genocide in Gaza.”
Layla Elabed, the campaign manager of Listen to Michigan, voiced her hope to the New York Times that snubbing Biden in the primary would make him “feel more at risk of losing Michigan in the general election” and “shift his policy to support a ceasefire, at least.”
In a similar vein, Our Revolution, a political organization established by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in 2016, announced on Feb. 14 its participation in the protest against Biden. The progressive group planned to email its 312,000 supporters in Michigan and other states, urging them to choose “Uncommitted” in the primary to “push Biden to change course on Gaza now.”
Biden has encountered criticism from other Michigan Democrats regarding the conflict. In late January, Dearborn mayor Abdullah Hammoud (D.) and local Arab-American leaders declined to meet with Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez due to the president’s stance on the Israel-Hamas situation.
“Our immediate demand is crystal clear: the Biden administration must call for a permanent ceasefire to a genocide it is defending and funding with our tax dollars,” Hammoud expressed on X, adding, “I will not entertain conversations about elections while we watch a live-streamed genocide backed by our government.”