An organization started by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in 2016 is urging Michiganders to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary to protest President Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Biden’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas has angered Democratic voters in the battleground state, where the Muslim and Arab American communities make up a sizable voting bloc. Sanders’ organization, Our Revolution, will send out an email on Wednesday to 87,000 individuals in Michigan urging them to vote “uncommitted” on Feb. 27 to “push Biden to change course on Gaza now,” according to the NYT.
“I am working with some people who feel like they will never vote for Joe Biden, but there are many, many, many I feel will vote for Joe Biden on Nov. 5 if he changes course,” former Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan, who signed the letter, told the NYT in an interview. “This is the best way I can help Joe Biden.”
Levin argued that Biden could lose the general election in Michigan to former President Donald Trump if he doesn’t change his position on the issue. Trump is currently leading Biden in the battleground state by five points, according to the RealClearPolitics average. (RELATED: ‘Punish Joe’: Biden’s Handling Of Israel-Hamas War Could Cost Him Michigan)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 13: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the Senate’s recent passage of the National Security Supplemental Bill, which provides military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, in the State Dining Room of the White House. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Our Revolution is also reaching out to 225,000 individuals in other states, according to the NYT. The group will engage in phone and text banking, as well as events on college campuses in Michigan.
Larry Cohen, the chairman of the organization, told the outlet that he hopes the effort will secure support from at least 10% of Democratic primary voters in the battleground state, requiring roughly 20,000 votes.
BOSTON, MA – MARCH 31: Former Presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at the Our Revolution Massachusetts Rally at the Orpheum Theatre on March 31, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Biden won Michigan in 2020 by only 154,000 votes, and secured an overwhelming majority of Muslim voters nationwide. Michigan is home to roughly 200,000 registered Muslim voters, and approximately 145,000 turned out last presidential cycle.
Listen to Michigan is another Democratic group in the swing state encouraging voters to support the “uncommitted” option if they share discontent with Biden over his handling of the war in Gaza.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 07: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (C) gestures during a rally on jobs December 7, 2016 at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. Our Revolution and Good Jobs Nation, the organizer, held a rally to demand good jobs and workers’ rights from the incoming President-elect Donald Trump administration. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Nasser Beydoun, board member and former chairman of the Arab American Civil Rights League, previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he is pushing his community members to vote for the ballot option instead of the president just to show Biden that we have the numbers to take them down.”
Our Revolution, Sanders’ campaign and Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
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