Groups of Minnesota Democrats are voting “uncommitted” in Minnesota’s Democratic presidential primary to send a message to President Joe Biden.
Currently, President Joe Biden is on a glide path to once again receive the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. However, certain Democrats in Minnesota and around the country are urging voters to mark “uncommitted” on their Democratic presidential primary ballots instead of voting for Biden. In opposing President Biden, these Democrats are hoping to rally support for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
“Joe Biden and our party leaders are failing us,” states the website for Vote Uncommitted MN. “We believe elected officials have a duty to act on the will of the people and the people want a permanent ceasefire now!
“We are organizing our neighbors across the state to tell Joe Biden: permanent ceasefire now! With his approval ratings bottoming-out and a tight race for re-election, we know he is paying close attention to what happens at the ballot box,” the website adds.
In Michigan, over 100,000 people voted for “uncommitted” in that state’s Democratic presidential primary last month. With hundreds of thousands of Middle Eastern and North African people living throughout Michigan, the state has a significant number of residents who feel strongly about the Israel-Hamas war. Placing second in the Democratic primary, uncommitted took over 13% of the vote. Meanwhile, President Biden took over 80%.
In Minnesota, which has many Muslim and East African populations throughout the state, a similar campaign to send the same message has taken off.
Statement about tomorrow’s primary: pic.twitter.com/Hlj9EnKqgK
— Vote Uncommitted (@uncommittedmn) March 5, 2024
Several Minnesota state legislators have publicly supported the uncommitted campaign, including Democrats Rep. Hodan Hassan, Rep. Aisha Gomez, Rep. Andy Smith, Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, Rep. Jay Xiong, Sen. Jen McEwen, and Sen. Omar Fateh.
In voting uncommitted, Sen. Fateh, D-Minneapolis, put out a statement, saying, “With deep remorse for the actions of our country’s federal government, which shows no signs of wavering in its commitment to unconditional military and political support for Israel’s genocide in Palestine, [I am] announcing that I will be voting uncommitted on Super Tuesday.”
Describing his vote as a “warning” to the Biden administration, Sen. Fateh added, “unless [the Biden administration is] to take immediate and dramatic action to stop Israel from continuing the genocide, [it] cannot expect [the] support of progressives.”
A part of Super Tuesday, Minnesota’s presidential primary is today, March 5. Both Democrats and Republicans will be voting for their preferred candidate for president of the United States.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
