Voters are not happy about where the country is heading as the Israel-Hamas war continues to spell bad news for President Joe Biden’s re-election chances.
In Tuesday night’s Democrat Primary election, ten percent of people who went to polls voted “uncommitted” rather than support Biden.
The pro-Hamas, anti-Biden movement is beginning to affect the president ahead of the November election, causing headaches for the Democratic Party.
“Although ballots are still being counted, the ‘uncommitted’ vote count in this year’s Democratic presidential primary election is already tens of thousands of votes higher than in the 2020 elections,” the group Listen To Maryland said in a press release.
In the weeks leading up to the primary, the group organized an effort to get people to vote “uncommitted”— and it worked.
“We just believe that it is our moral responsibility to protest in this way," Listen to Maryland organizer Hena Zuberi said.
People who are part of the “uncommitted” movement want to pressure Biden to end U.S. backing of Israel’s assault on Gaza. Critics argue that Biden’s ongoing military and diplomatic support for Israel’s relentless war is costing him votes from younger Americans that will be crucial to winning the November election. This development occurs as new polls show Trump leading Biden in five crucial swing states that may decide the presidential election. Biden is losing ground among young voters — who have mobilized to demand Biden do more to stop the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Via Baltimore Beat.
Concerns began in Michigan when the Listen to Michigan campaign reached its goal of getting more than 100,000 people to vote “uncommitted” rather than for Biden in the state primary.
Similar efforts have popped up in other states across the country as well.
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island have all seen efforts to persuade people to vote “uncommitted” instead of supporting the president. In all four states, nearly 600,000 people cast votes against Biden because of his foreign policy.
“People are really surprised there is this option and those who are for a cease-fire are like 'definitely we'll be on board and we'll tell more friends of ours this is an option,'" Zuberi added.
Young voters are also souring on Biden. A recent Axios poll found that 58 percent of voters ages 18-34 are unsure if they’ll vote in November— with many suggesting they won’t automatically vote blue either.
Maryland’s primary came two months after Biden demanded a ceasefire while speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.