Michigan’s largest Arab American cities reject Biden over his handling of Israel-Hamas war

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Dearborn and two other Michigan cities with large Arab and Muslim populations turned against President Joe Biden in the state’s primary after Democratic leaders there warned for months that voters were angry about his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

While Biden won the state with more than 623,000 votes, the results in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck highlight the challenge his reelection campaign faces in a swing state that each major party has said they must win to take the White House in November. More than 100,000 Michigan Democratic primary voters cast ballots for “uncommitted” in the race, enough to pick up two delegates.

“In the city of Dearborn we have demonstrated that the issue of Gaza is not an issue that is only of concern to Arab Americans and Muslim Americans. But this is an issue to all Americans from coast to coast,” Dearborn’s Democratic mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, told a crowd Tuesday night as votes rolled in.

Indeed, the “uncommitted” push is expected in other states. Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that a portion of Minnesota’s Somali population, the largest in the country, is likely to vote “uncommitted” in his state’s primary next week. Additionally, a nationwide “Abandon Biden” campaign has seen momentum in other key swing states.

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