Will the ‘uncommitted’ movement against Biden gain momentum on Super Tuesday?
Voters in seven primary states have the option of casting a protest vote against Biden’s Gaza policy
Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, speaks during an election night gathering hosted by Listen to Michigan on Feb. 27. Photo by Nic Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh March 5, 2024
Activists critical of Biden’s reluctance to support a permanent ceasefire are seeking to leverage their electoral momentum on Super Tuesday, building on a successful campaign in the Michigan presidential primary last week. More than 100,000 Democratic voters marked “uncommitted” on their ballots, to push the administration on the matter.
The results of the presidential primaries and caucuses conducted on Super Tuesday across 15 states are expected to be a key indicator of the protest movement’s strength and impact.
In at least four states — Alabama, Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee — there is an “uncommitted” option on the ballot. In Colorado voters can choose a “noncommitted delegate” and in North Carolina and Massachusetts there is a “no preference” option.
The biggest push for “uncommitted” is in Massachusetts and Minnesota, targeting younger voters and the Arab American population.
Minnesota, like Michigan, is a crucial battleground in the presidential election. Trump lost the state by 44,000 votes in 2016. Minnesota has 10 electoral votes, compared to Michigan’s 15.
“Uncommitted” has been a ballot option for several election cycles in the states that offer it.
Organizers of the “Listen to Minnesota” campaign said on Monday that they “feel confident” that “uncommitted” votes will be at least double the 2,612 votes cast in the 2020 primary, which was a contest between President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“Democratic voters in Minnesota will ensure Biden knows that his funding of the war in Gaza is costing lives and crucial party support,” said Asma Nizami, the campaign’s spokesperson.
The Democratic Socialists of America, which has 92,000 members nationwide, endorsed the uncommitted campaigns on Sunday. The DSA’s NYC chapter will meet on Wednesday to strategize about New York’s primary in April.
In Massachusetts, an activist organization called “Massachusetts Peace Action” is leading messaging on the “no preference” option.
On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris drew praise from the Democratic progressive base by calling for an “immediate” six-week ceasefire in a speech in Selma, Alabama. There were 3,700 “uncommitted” votes in the state’s Democratic primary in 2020. According to an NBC News report, Harris was prepared to take a harsher stance on Israel due to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, but was convinced by Biden’s aides to temper her language.
Her office denies that the speech was watered down.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
