LANSING, Michigan (AP) 鈥 A protest 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 vote in Michigan that secured two delegates in the state's Democratic primary on Tuesday was meant as a warning to President Joe Biden's reelection over his support for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, but eight months from Election Day his campaign insists it鈥檚 nothing to panic about.
While Biden with more than 618,000 votes, more than 100,000 Michigan Democratic primary voters cast ballots for 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 in the race, enough to pick up the pair of delegates. The vote totals raise concerns for Democrats in a state Biden won by only 154,000 votes in 2020. Biden was beaten by the 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 vote in both Dearborn and Hamtramck, where Arab Americans make up close to half the population.
Some local Democrats such as U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress, to convey a message to Biden. Organizers of the 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 campaign, who had purposely set expectations low with a goal of at least 10,000 votes, celebrated Tuesday鈥檚 results as a win.
Biden on Tuesday and is well on his way to clinching the nomination over marginal competition.
鈥淭he president appreciates the people of Michigan coming out last night to make sure that their voices were heard,鈥 said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. 鈥淎nd he鈥檚 proud to receive more than 80% of the Democratic Party vote.鈥
She added that Biden aides continue to engage with the Arab American community. 鈥淲e understand how personal this is, how this moment is incredibly painful,鈥 she said.
In 2012, during Barack Obama鈥檚 reelection bid, the 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 option received nearly 21,000 votes, representing 11 percentage points. The 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 vote totals in both 2016 and 2020 鈥 when the Democratic primaries were contested 鈥 hovered around 20,000, which was less than 2 percentage points.
The uncommitted delegates came from the 6th District, centered around Ann Arbor, and the other from the 12th District, which includes Detroit suburbs with large blocs of Arab Americans.
鈥淵esterday was a resounding victory,鈥 Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said Wednesday. 鈥淭his is not just an Arab or Muslim issue now. This is an American issue now.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 my hope, Mr. President, that you listen to us, that you choose democracy over tyranny,鈥 said Hammoud.
Unofficial results put the 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 total at close to 13% of the overall vote in the Democratic primary.
The uncommitted delegates from Michigan will be free to vote for whomever they choose at the party鈥檚 national convention in Chicago this summer. The people who will fill those delegate seats will be selected at congressional district conventions on May 11.
The 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 tally is a concern for Biden, but is not a 鈥渄eath note鈥 for his chances in the pivotal state in November, said Richard Czuba, a pollster who has long tracked Michigan politics. Czuba said the vote would have needed to be between 20 and 30 percentage points to signal significant concerns for Biden鈥檚 prospects in the state come November.
Tuesday's results also showed some signs of optimism for Biden, mostly in how weaknesses in the coalition backing former President Donald Trump, his all-but-certain rival, in his quest for the GOP nomination. More than 320,000 Republicans voted for another candidate in the race, the majority for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, even as Trump appears to be cruising toward renomination.
Biden's team believes they can court many Haley voters to reject Trump once again 鈥 offsetting, at least partially, any lack of enthusiasm among the Democratic base 鈥 and that the results of the GOP race give them a roadmap to the persuadable voters they need to target.
鈥淗e鈥檚 struggling with suburban voters, nearly 300k people showed up to vote against him in a primary that鈥檚 all but over, and he鈥檚 demonstrated repeatedly he鈥檚 done nothing to expand his reach beyond his MAGA base,鈥 said Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler. 鈥淢ichigan will be close this November, but this team is used to doing the hard and necessary work to not just ask, but to earn the support of our winning coalition.鈥
Turnout in the noncompetitive primary was high throughout the state 鈥 as Biden's campaign and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer flexed their political operations in the run-up to November, a positive sign for Democrats in November, and turnout in the areas that backed 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 was not substantially higher than the rest of the state.
It is common for states to offer voters the choice of voting for 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 or 鈥渘o preference鈥 in presidential primaries, though Michigan is the first state this cycle to award any of those delegates. On Super Tuesday next week, eight states will offer some variation of uncommitted in Democratic and Republican primaries.
Abbas Alawieh, a spokesperson for Listen to Michigan, the group organizing the 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 push, told reporters Wednesday that it has already heard from organizers in other states looking to push a similar campaign.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that he expected a measure of Minnesota鈥檚 Somali population, the largest in the country, to vote 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 in his state's Democratic primary on Super Tuesday. More than 86,000 Somalis live in Minnesota.
Walz, a major supporter of Biden's reelection campaign, said Michigan's 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 results were a healthy demonstration of democracy.
鈥淚 think they feel passionate, as they should, about an issue we all care about,鈥 Walz said, adding that he expected most protest voters would eventually return to Biden's side in a likely November rematch with Trump, who himself has struggled with college-educated voters and suburbanites in his ongoing Republican primary against former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
鈥淚鈥檓 much more convinced there鈥檚 a chance bringing those folks home is much greater than bringing the 鈥楴ever Trump鈥 folks back home,鈥 Walz said.
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Miller reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Tom Beaumont in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed reporting.
