Aviva Fried with AFP / Photo credits: Miriam Alster / POOL / AFP
Joe Biden won Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, but was harshly sanctioned for his support of Israel in the state with a large Muslim and Arab population, a result that could bode ill for his re-election chances. According to initial estimates, more than 50,000 “uncommitted” votes, the equivalent of a blank vote, were cast at the ballot boxes in this state, responding to a call to put pressure on the American president for a cease-fire. immediate fire in Gaza.
The American position vis-à-vis Israel sanctioned
Michigan is the US state with the largest proportion of Arab-Muslims in the country. A community that voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden in 2020. However, for months, a movement called “Abandon Joe Biden” has gained momentum locally, in reaction to the American position vis-à-vis Israel. The instruction for the primary was to vote “without preference”, an option available on the ballot papers.
A position supported on social networks by the Democratic representative of Michigan in Congress, Rashida Tlaib. “I was proud to vote ‘no preference.’ When 74% of Michigan Democrats support a ceasefire, that’s how we can use our democracy to say ‘listen to the majority of Americans who say enough!’” she said.
Joe Biden, the candidate of the lesser evil for Arab-Muslim Americans
The scale of this “no preference” vote is a warning shot. As the number of civilian casualties rises in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Joe Biden has seen his support erode significantly among Muslims and Arab Americans, an electorate that had been decisive in his victory over Donald Trump in 2020. The Democratic leader only won this northern state by 150,000 votes four years ago. The local Muslim community represents 200,000 voters.
In a duel against Donald Trump, Joe Biden remains the lesser evil candidate for Arab-Muslim Americans. They still need to go to the polls, which they threaten not to do if the president does not change his policy. On the Republican side, Donald Trump has already won handily four states that have voted, including South Carolina on Saturday, and Michigan has, for the moment, not interrupted its march towards the Republican nomination this summer.