Washington [US], February 28: US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump easily won the Democratic and Republican presidential primary elections in Michigan on February 27.
On February 27, voters in the state of Michigan go to the polls to choose a presidential candidate for the election next November. There were two votes taking place at the same time, in which Mr. Biden won on the Democratic side while Mr. Trump achieved the same result on the Republican side.
According to The Washington Post , President Biden is expected to win easily. His biggest threat is not any election opponent but the campaign of Michigan Democrats themselves, who vote "uncommitted", meaning not supporting any candidate, to protest the government's handling of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Michigan is home to a large Arab-American community and there has been a movement of activist groups urging voters to vote in the above manner to show opposition to the current president.
According to CNN, a passionate crowd gathered at a Middle Eastern restaurant in the city of Dearborn, Michigan to celebrate the achievements of the response movement to the Gaza Strip conflict. Some said they would never vote for Mr. Biden and would leave their ballots blank in November, while others hoped their "uncommitted" vote this time would prompt a change in White House policy.
"We demand that President Biden take action now, bringing about a lasting ceasefire. An uncommitted vote is a humanitarian vote," said Ms. Layla Elabed, manager of the advocacy group Listen to Michigan said.
On the Republican race, former President Donald Trump is also expected to win against his remaining opponent, Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the United Nations. This result further strengthens Mr. Trump's position as the most potential candidate for the position of party representative participating in the election in November. Mrs. Haley has announced that she will stay in the race until at least November. Super Tuesday (February 5), when 15 states hold primary elections.
Preliminary results after 10% of votes were counted showed that Mr. Biden won 79% of the votes while the number of uncommitted votes was 16%. On the other side, with 8% of votes counted, Mr. Trump had 64% while Ms. Haley had 32%.
The above results increase the possibility of a rematch between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump in November.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper