As of: February 28, 2024, 12:23 p.m
By: Luke Rogalla
Comments
Press
Split
Biden and Trump each clearly won the primaries in Michigan.
But parts of the population are letting the president feel their anger.
Lansing - It's a warning shot for Joe Biden: The US President was able to achieve a clear victory in the Democratic primaries in Michigan.
Nevertheless, there were many “undecideds” in the party in the Midwestern state of the USA – more than 100,000, significantly more than in the last elections.
Why is this so important?
Biden is effectively unrivaled in his party, but is still likely to be worried about the result in Michigan.
After about 92 percent of the votes were counted, the incumbent was clearly in the lead with 80.5 percent, but “undecideds” made up about 14 percent in the Democratic primary.
Swing state Michigan is particularly important for Biden and Trump - both win in primaries
Michigan is located in the north of the USA and has around 10 million inhabitants.
The state is characterized by industry and is considered an important swing state in the US election, which neither Democrats nor Republicans have a firm control over.
In 2016, Trump won here with a 10,704 vote lead over Hillary Clinton, and Biden won here in 2020 with a 154,188 vote lead over Trump.
US President Joe Biden clearly wins the primary elections in Michigan, but still has to accept a setback.
(Archive photo) © Mario Tama/AFP
But there's something else that sets Michigan apart: According to
NPR
, 300,000 people with roots in the Middle East and North Africa live here.
This is the largest proportion in the country.
200,000 registered voters are Muslim.
Most of them vote democratically.
The US primaries in Michigan are seen as a mood test for how Biden's stance in the Gaza war could affect the coming presidential election.
The USA is Israel's biggest supporter.
Michigan primaries: “President Biden is not listening to us”
“President Biden is funding the bombs that have fallen on the family members of people here in Michigan – people who voted for him and who now feel completely betrayed,” said activist Layla Elabed of Listen to Michigan.
Funding and supporting Israel in the war contradicts the values of the Democratic Party.
The group therefore called for “uncommitted” (German: “neutral”) to be ticked on the ballot instead of Biden’s name.
The goal was to convince at least 10,000 Democratic voters - now there are significantly more.
Visits by a Biden delegation to Dearborn did not help either.
Layla Elabed is the sister of Rashida Tlaib, the only congresswoman with Palestinian roots.
According to the AFP
news agency, Tlaib said
she was proud to have voted “uncommitted” that day.
"If 74 percent of Democrats in Michigan support a ceasefire, but President Biden won't listen to us, this is how we can use our democracy to say, 'Listen - listen to Michigan,'" she emphasized.
Dearborn, Michigan: A call to check “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary.
© Kevin Dietsch/AFP
27-year-old nurse Fatima Elsaghir told
AFP
that she wanted to use her protest vote to force Biden to change his mind.
Perhaps the desire to win Michigan will persuade the president to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
In the UN Security Council, the USA vetoed a draft resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza.
Trump is also targeting Michigan in the US election
As the death toll on the Palestinian side rises, support for Biden among Muslims and Arab US citizens is waning.
The mayor of the heavily Arab Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Abdullah Hammud, said the vote was about holding Biden “accountable.”
Both the almost 30,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip and the “endless military aid” are unacceptable, he wrote on Instagram.
Things are different with Donald Trump.
The former US president, now Biden's challenger, can hardly be stopped on the way to becoming the Republican presidential candidate.
After his comfortable victory in Michigan against Nikki Haley, he was optimistic: “If we win Michigan, we’ll win the whole thing.” The Republican Trump is currently ahead of Biden in polls.
Now Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (Democrats) is warning about exactly this: “Every vote that is not cast for Joe Biden supports a second term for Trump,”
Spiegel
quotes her as saying .
Elabed also admits this.
“Under Trump, even the US embassy in Israel was moved to Jerusalem,” she said.
Nevertheless, the pressure on Biden should be maintained.
(lrg/dpa/afp)