Array
US President Joe Biden easily won the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan on Tuesday, Edison Research projected, but a protest vote by Democrats angry over his support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza was showing signs of strength as initial returns were counted.
Donald Trump won the Republican presidential primary in the state by a large margin, Edison Research projected, further strengthening his grip on the party’s White House nomination as Nikki Haley, his last remaining rival, came in a distant second.
Although Biden and Republican former President Trump had been expected to easily win their separate party primaries, the vote count for both was being closely watched for signs of wavering support.
In Michigan, home to a large Arab American constituency, Democratic voters had been urged to mark their primary ballots as “uncommitted” on Tuesday in protest at Biden’s Gaza policy.
Early returns showed Biden and Trump with solid leads. With 10% of the estimated Democratic vote counted, Biden had 79% support, with “uncommitted” getting 16%, and with 8% of the estimated Republican vote counted, Trump had 64% support to Haley’s 32%, according to Edison Research.
Michigan routinely offers an “uncommitted” option as a way of questioning whether a named candidate has the support of the party’s base.
