Organizers of the hastily assembled but highly organized campaign to use Michigan’s primary ballot as a protest against President Joe Biden’s support for Israel saw the swell of votes for “uncommitted” on Tuesday as a strong message to the president and his campaign that they need to change course or risk electoral disaster.
But while the outcome has far exceeded organizers’ public expectations or predictions, and signals real weakness for Biden in a crucial state come November, Michigan’s results could be difficult to replicate in other states. “Uncommitted” received more than 100,000 votes — a little over 13% of the vote but five times as many protest votes Barack Obama received in 2012. Biden won Michigan by around 154,000 votes in 2020.
Organizers of the Listen to Michigan campaign, the main group urging voters to check “uncommitted,” were focused on getting 10,000 votes — a number similar to Trump’s margin of victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. It was a low goal, well below the votes “uncommitted” received in 2012. But the “uncommitted” vote on Tuesday blitzed past both numbers.