Will the ‘uncommitted’ movement against Biden gain momentum on Super Tuesday?
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.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
