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| EFE |
The U.S. support for Israel's offensive, which has resulted in at least 30,000 deaths (mostly women and children), thousands of injuries, and displaced 2 million people in the Gaza Strip, has faced backlash among various groups and voters crucial to Biden's victory in the 2020 elections in Michigan.
The progressive wing of the Democratic Party, represented by figures like Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, former Democratic presidential nominee Beto O'Rourke, and former Congressman Andy Levin, has crystallized this opposition by calling for a protest vote against Biden in the Michigan primary held on Tuesday.
A grassroots movement
Two organizations, "Our Revolution" and "Listen to Michigan," which bring together prominent politicians, activists, and tens of thousands of people in the state, have urged Democrats to cast an "uncommitted" vote on Tuesday, akin to a blank ballot, in the primaries.
"We are very disappointed with the response that President Biden's administration has given to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, and we are trying to send him a message in Michigan that he needs to improve his position on this issue," explained Paco Fabián, deputy director of "Our Revolution," to EFE.
It is not a coincidence that the movement to penalize Biden for his stance on the Gaza war started in Michigan: around 300,000 people of Arab and Muslim origin live in the state, one of the largest populations in the country.
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Fabián acknowledged to EFE that it has been this strong Arab and Muslim community, partly affiliated with "Our Revolution," that has joined the blank vote campaign initiated by "Listen to Michigan," a movement started by Layla Elabed, sister of Congresswoman Tlaib.
With a budget of $250,000, the message from "Listen to Michigan" is clear and direct: "Tell Biden not to count on me for genocide."
"We are marking the 'uncommitted' box because we fundamentally reject that Biden funds the war and genocide in the Gaza Strip," explains the movement on its website.
The Democratic left
However, it is "Our Revolution" that has the power to mobilize voters. This organization was founded in 2016 by Senator Bernie Sanders, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, attempting to push the Democratic Party to the left on issues such as immigration, wages, the environment, or healthcare.
The organization is present nationwide and, in Michigan specifically, has 87,000 members and about 225,000 followers. All of them have received a letter from "Our Revolution" in recent days requesting a blank vote to express their dissatisfaction with Biden.
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"Our Revolution" believes that Biden's policies towards Israel and the Gaza war are demotivating voters for the November presidential elections, which could lead to Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate, winning the state.
According to the latest poll published by Emerson College, Biden would lose in Michigan with 44% of the votes against Trump's 46%.
Considering these numbers, Joseph Geevarghese, the director of "Our Revolution," argued in an op-ed published in USA Today on Monday that "Biden's campaign desperately needs to wake up."
Aiming for 10% of the votes
The goal of the blank vote movement is to reach 10% of the total ballots cast in the Democratic primaries in the state.
The last time Michigan saw a similar effort by citizens to vote blank was in 2008 when only Hillary Clinton's name appeared on the ballots, not that of her rival, the then-young Senator Barack Obama, who would later become the Democratic candidate and president.
At that time, some groups carried out campaigns to encourage the "uncommitted" vote in those elections, and voters ultimately chose that option by 40%, demonstrating strong support for Obama.