Biden, Trump win primaries in key swing state Michigan
DEARBORN, Michigan — US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump won the Michigan primaries on Tuesday, further solidifying the all-but-certain rematch between the two men.
The results from the state were highlighting some of their biggest political vulnerabilities ahead of the November general election, The Associated Press reported.
Biden defeated Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips, his only opponent left in the Democratic primary.
Various activists in Michigan, including younger voters as well as Muslim and Arab American voters, coordinated a campaign to cast their votes as “uncommitted” to protest the Biden administration’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A robust grassroots effort began just a few weeks ago to encourage voters to select “uncommitted” as a way to register objections to the death toll caused by Israel’s offensive.
“Our movement emerged victorious tonight and massively surpassed our expectations. Tens of thousands of Michigan Democrats, many of whom who voted for Biden in 2020, are uncommitted to his reelection due to the war in Gaza,” the “Listen to Michigan” campaign, which urged people to vote uncommitted, said in a statement.
Campaign organizers vowed to take what they called their anti-war agenda to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
Michigan pollster Bernie Porn said it remained to be seen how big of an issue the Middle East would be for Biden in November when the situation could look different.
On the Republican side, Trump’s victory over former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley marks the fifth state the former president has swept in the primary.
Turnout for Haley, who won nearly 40 percent of Republican votes in her home state South Carolina on Saturday, was being scrutinized for signs of vulnerability for Trump among moderates, whose support he would need in a general election.
Haley campaign spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas said the Michigan results were a “flashing warning sign for Trump in November”.
Only 16 out of Michigan’s 55 presidential delegates will be decided based on the primary outcome, with the remaining delegates to be distributed at a Republican convention scheduled for March 2, when the remaining 39 delegates are allocated.
Trump is facing 91 criminal charges across four separate cases, ranging from his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election to retaining classified documents after his presidency.
With about 85 percent of all votes counted, Biden has 81 percent of the votes, CBS News reported. On the Republican side, with 62 percent of the vote counted, Trump led with 67 percent to Haley’s 27 percent.
Economy a critical issue
The economy is the top issue for 31 percent of Michigan voters, followed by immigration, threats to democracy, healthcare, housing affordability, education, crime, and abortion access, according to a new Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey.
Michigan is a key swing state in the US presidential election. Trump narrowly flipped Michigan, also a Rust Belt state, in the 2016 presidential election, defeating Hillary Clinton by just 0.2 percent. Four years later, Biden won by 2.8 percent, bringing it back to the Democratic column.
Super Tuesday, the day in the presidential primary cycle when the most states vote, is fast approaching. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the Republican or Democratic conventions are normally distributed on this day. This year’s Super Tuesday falls on March 5, when some 15 states and one territory will vote.
The US presidential primaries, extending through June, precede the Republican National Convention in July, where the party’s presidential nominee is officially selected by delegates, followed by the Democratic National Convention in August. The 2024 Election Day falls on Nov 5.