More than 100K Michigan voters pick ‘uncommitted’ over Biden − does that matter for November?

Voters fill out their ballot for the Michigan primary election in Dearborn on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024.& AP Photo/Paul Sancya by Michael Traugott, University of Michigan Joe Biden won the 2024 Michigan Democratic primary, but “uncommitted” ran a spirited campaign. More than 100,000 Michiganders voted “uncommitted” in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, 13% of the Democratic electorate. Listen to Michigan organized the uncommitted campaign in Michigan, promoting it as a way to express dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s public stance in support of Israel’s actions in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The group also set a goal of securing more uncommitted votes than the 11,000-vote margin by which Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016. The total was nearly 10 times that number. Biden won Michigan in 2020 by 154,181 votes. While there were no exit polls conducted with Michigan primary voters, preelection polling just before the primary showed Biden’s weakness among potential young voters as well as Arab Americans. Michigan has the largest Arab, Muslim and Palestinian population in the United States, currently numbering more than 200,000. More than half of the population of Dearborn, Michigan, is Arab, as is its mayor; it is home to the largest mosque in...