Donald Trump AND Joe Biden have dominated the 2024 primary season ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
With the state of Michigan voting on Tuesday, February 27, Biden could face his first major test among voters.
What happened: Biden won every state primary that was held for Democratic voters, including one state where he wasn’t even present on the ballot and received enough write-in support.
The state of Michigan, which hosts primary elections on Tuesday, could prove to be a testing ground for Biden. Although the current president is expected to easily win the state, he may see a decline in support due to his clear support for Israel.
An Axios report highlighted an activist push by Michigan voters to vote “noncommittally” in Tuesday’s Democratic primary instead of supporting Biden. The activist push builds on Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza, which began in October 2023.
The report said local Arab-American leaders rejected a meeting with Biden campaign advisers last month.
The state of Michigan has a large Muslim and Arab-American population, which could make public support for Israel a potentially worrying factor for Biden to win the state in the 2024 presidential election.
Among those who say they are encouraged to say “not engaged” in Michigan’s primary elections is the congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Related link: US voter support for Israel declines as government spending stalls in Congress
Because it is important: Biden won the state of Michigan in the 2020 election. The swing state was one of many that went from voting for Trump in 2016 to being secured by Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
New Hampshire also took aim at a write-in campaign by activists linked to the Gaza war, encouraging voters to write “ceasefire” on their primary ballots. That push had no material impact.
An Emerson College poll of registered Democratic voters shows the president getting 75% support. Dean Phillips has 5% voter support in the poll, and 9% of respondents said they plan to vote without obligation. The poll showed that 28% of Democratic voters under 30 plan to vote without obligation.
According to the Emerson College poll of Republican voters in Michigan, Trump received 69% support, with Nikki Haley in second place with 20% and 11% of those interviewed are still undecided in their choice.
Losing support for Biden from Democratic voters could prove costly, and Tuesday’s primary could be a warning sign that he needs to appeal to a broader demographic with his stance on the Gaza war.
The Emerson College poll of registered voters showed Trump with a 46% to 44% lead in a head-to-head matchup. When third-party candidates were included, Trump got 42%, Biden got 39% and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got 6%.
Trump also performed better among independent voters, garnering 43% support compared to 37% support for Biden.
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