Michigan Democrats, community leaders sound alarm bells after thousands of voters protest Biden in swing state

Almost 21,000 people voted uncommitted for President Obama in 2012

Liberal media outlets are reporting division among Democrats after thousands of voters in Michigan marked the "uncommitted" box on their ballots, a sign of protest over President Biden's policies on the Israel-Hamas war. 

Biden's stance on Israel's war in Gaza has set off public criticism against him from Arab American and Muslim community leaders, particularly in Michigan, which is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the U.S.

As a result, some groups like Listen to Michigan and Uncommitted Minnesota encouraged voters to cast a vote as "uncommitted" rather than for Biden. 

JAMES CARVILLE FRETS OVER 'UNCOMMITTED' PROTEST VOTE AGAINST BIDEN IN MICHIGAN: 'HUGE PROBLEM'

Liberal media outlets are reflecting division between Democrats after thousands of voters in Michigan checked the "uncommitted" box on their ballots, a sign of protest over President Biden's policies on the Israel-Hamas war.  (AP Newsroom / Fox News Digital)

As of Wednesday, over 100,000 people voted "uncommitted" in the Democratic primary in Michigan. 

"I don’t see a pathway for them to win Michigan with that many people not voting for them," CEO of Emgage, Wa’el Alzayat, told Politico. "I just don’t."

A campaign manager for "Listen to Michigan," Layla Elabed, said that the state "will be sending at least one delegate to Chicago to declare that they are uncommitted to the Democratic nominee as long as he or she funds Israel’s war in Gaza." 

Listen to Michigan originally "set 10,000 votes as its benchmark for success in a memo sent on Monday, noting that was roughly the margin Trump won Michigan by during the 2016 general election," according to Politico. 

"That was a low estimate," the outlet explained. "Uncommitted'" earned about 20,000 voters in the last three Michigan presidential primaries," Politico explained. "In 2012, 'uncommitted' earned nearly 21,000 votes, when then-President Barack Obama ran with no opposition on the primary ballot in the state."

RASHIDA TLAIB 'PROUD' TO NOT VOTE FOR BIDEN IN MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., waits to vote during the House floor after the third failed vote to elect a new Speaker of the House in the Capitol on Friday, October 20, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Axios also conducted interviews with voters and political leaders who protested Biden at the ballot box in Michigan. 

"This is not an Arab issue. It's not a Muslim issue. This is an issue of morality," Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said to Axios on Tuesday. 

Adam Abusalah, a resident of Dearborn, Michigan, "pushed for the ‘uncommitted’ vote this year," per Axios, and told the outlet previously that the campaign was "a warning to Biden like, get your s--t together or you're going to lose."

"This is the only option we have to enact democracy in this moment," activist Asma Mohammed told The New York Times. "We are against a Trump presidency, and we also want Biden to be better. If that means pushing him to his limit, that is what it will take."

The Times reported that even more than Dearborn, which has a high Arab population, it was "worrisome" for Biden that the "uncommitted" vote was so popular in Ann Arbor, a college town. 

"There, where most students and faculty members at the University of Michigan live, ‘uncommitted’ earned 19 percent of the vote," the outlet reported. "In East Lansing, home to Michigan State University, 'uncommitted' got 15 percent of the vote."

Prominent Democratic leaders have also signaled public opposition to Biden's policy on the Israel-Hamas war. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said she was "proud" to cast a protest vote against President Biden in Michigan's Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Tlaib's comments were shared in a video by Listen To Michigan, a group dedicated to getting Democrats in the state to vote "uncommitted" in the primary election. 

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History. 

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