2024-02-29 09:54:24
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won last night’s primary election in Michigan, further solidifying an almost certain rematch between the two, the Associated Press reported.
Joe Biden easily won the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan, but the protest vote of Democrats angered by his support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza exceeded organizers’ expectations, Reuters noted.
Donald Trump, for his part, defeated challenger Nikki Haley by a wide margin in the state’s GOP primary, cementing his position for the party’s nomination for the White House. Haley has already lost to Trump in the primary elections in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, reports BTA. She is considered somewhat more moderate politically and rhetorically than her rival.
Although Biden and former Republican President Trump were expected to handily win their parties’ primaries, the vote numbers for both were closely watched for signs of wavering support.
In Michigan, home to a large number of Arab Americans, Democratic voters were urged to mark Tuesday’s primary ballot as “not committed” to protest Biden’s policy on Gaza.
According to polling agency Edison Research, early results showed the number of “unengaged” voters had reached 40,000 after 31 percent of Democratic ballots had been counted. That figure far exceeded the goal of 10,000 uncommitted voters that protest organizers had hoped for.
Anyone who wants to become a candidate for president in the United States must first prevail in the internal party primaries. Candidates are then formally selected at party conventions in the summer. The Republican convention takes place in mid-July.