MICHIGAN - United States President Joe Biden easily won the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan on Feb 27, but a protest vote by Democrats angry over his support for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza exceeded organisers' expectations.
Donald Trump won the state's Republican presidential primary by a large margin, strengthening his grip on the party's White House nomination as Mrs Nikki Haley, his last remaining rival, came in a distant second.
Although Mr Biden and Republican former president Trump had been expected to easily win their separate party primaries, the vote count for both was being closely watched for signs of wavering support.
In Michigan, home to a large Arab-American constituency, Democratic voters had been urged to mark their primary ballots as "uncommitted" on Feb 27 in protest at Mr Biden's Gaza policy.
With almost half of Democratic votes counted, the number of "uncommitted" voters was more than 58,000, according to Edison Research, far exceeding the target of 10,000 that protest organisers had hoped for.
Many in Michigan's Arab-American community who backed Mr Biden in 2020 are angry, as are some progressive Democrats, over his support for Israel's offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed.
"Our movement emerged victorious tonight and massively surpassed our expectations. Tens of thousands of Michigan Democrats, many of whom voted for Biden in 2020, are uncommitted to his reelection due to the war in Gaza," said the Listen to Michigan campaign, which had urged people to vote "uncommitted".
This story is from the February 29, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 29, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
VICTORIA'S GOLDEN GOALKEEPER
Deyveekan put off ACL surgery, then puts down RI with 3 shoot-out saves
After 3rd over 1,200m and 2nd over 400m, Burridge’s 3YO aims for Ist in Guineas mile
Trainer Steven Burridge's quest for that elusive three-year-old feature win will come down to one last bullet in the $150,000 Group 2 Singapore Guineas (1,600m) on May 18.
Indonesian group eyes big boost from buying Shell's assets
Chandra Asri expects as much as $13.5b in annual revenue from refining site
US govt says it can prosecute Boeing over 737 Max crashes
The US Justice Department on May 14 said Boeing can be prosecuted for two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people approximately five years ago.
Seatrium shares slide on news of removal from MSCI index
Seatrium's strategy to raise the investment profile of the company via a share consolidation received a blow on May 15 when the stock fell sharply following its removal from the closely watched MSCI index.
Huawel takes on Apple with more China flagship stores
Aggressive move to retake crown for premium electronics as it rebounds from US sanctions
At least 10 cars slide and crash at Funan mall's carpark ramp
Mall says incident under probe; affected drivers given assistance
Man's jail term upped for downloading child sex abuse material
Indonesian’s jail time increased from 6 weeks to eight months after appeal by prosecution
Sales of new private homes slump to 4-year low in April
Lack of major new launches, buyers’ fatigue and high interest rates among the factors
Survey finds only 15% here aware of net-zero emissions target
But two-thirds of respondents keen to contribute when told about country’s goal