WASHINGTON, D.C. – All eyes are on Michigan for their primary elections. One area people are looking at in Michigan is how Democratic voters in that state will vote.
Political scientists believe President Biden will still win the Democratic primary in Michigan. But in Michigan, there is a large Arab American population. Many of those voters, including progressives and young Americans are saying they will choose the ‘uncommitted’ option. It signals their resistance towards Biden’s support for Israel as Gaza faces an overwhelming humanitarian crisis. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, political scientists said Biden’s approval ratings among Arab Americans has dropped from the high 60s, low 70s to the teens. They said with Michigan being a battleground state, Biden can’t afford to lose those voters.
“The main thing Joe Biden wants to be able to do is to hang on and not to have this become something that builds momentum on to other states,” said Dr. Todd Belt, George Washington University Professor and Director of Political Management. “Of course Michigan is very important in holding together the coalition that Biden built. He won that state by about 155-thousand votes over Donald Trump in 2020 and that’s much better than Hilary Clinton did in 2016 where she lost the state by 10-thousand votes.”
For the Republican ballot, voters will also choose between former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Trump is very popular in the state. Experts said they would be very surprised to see Haley crack 40 percent of the vote in Michigan.
