Michigan Primary Election: Trump, Biden Win, Many Democratic Voters Cast Blank Ballots

On the same day, Tuesday, February 27, the Republican and Democratic parties held primary elections in the state of Michigan to choose their candidates for the next president of the United States. As widely predicted by the media, the vote was won by the two major candidates of their respective parties: former President Donald Trump of the Republicans and incumbent President Joe Biden of the Democrats.

The vote count is still ongoing, but there is already some very important data regarding the Democratic vote. At this point, with more than 80% of the ballots counted, Biden has about 79% of the “yes” votes. That might seem like a lot, unless you consider that 13% of Michigan voters cast a so-called “blank ballot.” To be precise, out of 700,000 voters, more than 60,000 people – a huge number, according to US newspapers – checked the “uncommitted” box.

According to analysts, the “uncommitted” vote came mostly from those members of the Democratic Party who oppose Biden from the “left.” Many disagree with the US policy in the Middle East, condemning the White House’s unconditional support for Israel in the war against Hamas. The newspapers remind us that Michigan has “a large Muslim population, one of the largest in relation to the total state’s population after New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois.”

The result of the Michigan primary was a real wake-up call for Biden ahead of the November 5 election. Michigan is considered “one of the most decisive states for winning elections,” but it is also deemed as a so-called “swing state” that cannot be classified as either Democratic or Republican. After the Democratic primary, Biden saw his support among Muslims and Arab Americans weaken significantly.

Biden’s main rival, former White House occupant Donald Trump, who is now considered the front-runner again in opinion polls, won the Republican primary in Michigan by a wide margin. According to preliminary data, Trump won 70% of conservative voters’ preferences, compared to about 25% for the last remaining “competitor,” former US representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who sensationally lost her major donor in recent days. Haley has failed to win any of the races already completed in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the Virgin Islands, and even South Carolina, the state she governed from 2011 through 2017. Nevertheless, Haley said she will “stay in the race” at least until so-called Super Tuesday on March 5, when voters in 15 US states will be called to the polls.