Biden Wins Michigan Democratic Primary Amid Boycott Effort Over Israel-Hamas War

Biden’s win was overshadowed by a boycott campaign organized by Gaza cease-fire protesters.

President Joe Biden speaks in Culver City, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

LANSING, Mich.—As expected, incumbent President Joe Biden scored a decisive victory in Michigan’s Feb. 27 Democratic presidential primary.

His win, however, came amid a boycott campaign that asked people to vote “uncommitted” to express their discontent over the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. With half of the votes counted, “uncommitted” had garnered around 13 percent of the vote, much higher than the goal set by organizers.

The Associated Press called the race for President Biden immediately after the last polls closed at 9 p.m. ET.

The result comes soon after President Biden suggested that a humanitarian ceasefire could commence as soon as the end of the weekend.

“My hope is by next Monday, we'll have a ceasefire,” the president said while eating ice cream at New York’s Van Leeuwen ice cream parlor with late night talk show host Seth Meyers.

“Uncommitted” activists in the state include Layla Elabed, a close relative of left-leaning “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

“When you get to your polling location, you need to request a Democratic ballot. Once you have your Democratic ballot, vote uncommitted,” Ms. Elabed said in an instructional video for the “Listen to Michigan” ceasefire protest vote campaign posted on X.

Ms. Tlaib also backed the campaign, saying she was “proud” to vote uncommitted on Tuesday.

The New York Times reports that Ms. Elabed “hasn’t ruled out voting for him [Biden] in November.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Ms. Elabed for comment on the campaign.

Organizers of the boycott campaign cast the results as a victory.

“Our movement emerged victorious tonight and massively surpassed our expectations. Tens of thousands of Michigan Democrats, many of whom who voted for Biden in 2020, are uncommitted to his re-election due to the war in Gaza,” said Ms. Elabed in a statement.

President Biden previously won primaries in New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, giving him 90 delegates. His chief competitors, author Marianne Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), have so far garnered zero delegates. 117 delegates were at stake in Michigan, [all of which went to President Biden.]

Ms. Williamson suspended her campaign in early February. Mr. Phillips has continued his campaign but has recently pitched the idea of a unity ticket with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican.

Ms. Haley has stressed to The Epoch Times and other outlets that she is running in the Republican primary and has not spoken with “No Labels” or other potential partners, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

As expected, President Trump won the Feb. 27 Republican presidential primary in Michigan, receiving 65.6 percent of the vote. Ms. Haley garnered just 30.2 percent.

But just 16 out of the state’s 55 delegates to the Republican National Convention (RNC) were doled out based on that vote.

The remainder will likely be decided at a March 2 convention held in Grand Rapids and led by Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.). Yet, that convention is competing with one being held by Kristina Karamo. Ms. Karamo contends that she was improperly removed from her status as GOP chairwoman in an early January vote. The Republican National Committee has recognized Mr. Hoekstra as chairman. President Trump has thrown his weight behind Mr. Hoekstra in his claim to lead the party.

Voters Weigh In

After departing a polling place in Lansing, Michigan, Paul Mink said he voted for President Biden but sympathized with the “uncommitted” voters.

“I understand their feeling behind it, but I disagree with doing it that way because the stakes are so severe if Biden loses,” he told The Epoch Times.

Greg Ondrus, another voter leaving the same polling place, told The Epoch Times he filled in the uncommitted bubble on the Republican primary ballot.

“I’m not a Republican, but that’s what I voted,” he said.

The National Conference of State Legislatures categorizes Michigan’s primaries as open. Voters can get ballots for specific parties without being registered with them.

Mr. Ondrus wanted to take votes away from President Trump and Ms. Haley while also sending a message to the state Republican Party to get its fiscal house in order. The party recently defaulted on a half-million dollar loan.

He said he knew many people who participated in the “uncommitted” campaign on the Democratic ballot.

Mr. Ondrus likes Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) but thinks he’s too old.

“I’d love to see a Buttigieg-AOC ticket,” he said, referring to current Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).