(WWJ) — We appear headed for a rematch of the 2020 Presidential Election this fall, with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump expected to be the candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
But before we reach that point, Americans will cast their primary ballots. Michigan voters will head to the polls to do so on Tuesday, Feb. 27, with the state being a vitally important one in the American political landscape.
But on a new Daily J podcast, WWJ’s Zach Clark wonders if Michigan’s primary even matters at all.
Nicole Matthew, an associate professor of political science at Oakland University, says it certainly can matter, even if the larger picture of the general election appears to be focused on Biden and Trump.
“I think because it’s the only primary happening that day and it’s gonna be a week before Super Tuesday, I think people are gonna be looking at it just to see what kind of momentum, if any, Nikki Haley has going into Super Tuesday,” Matthew said.
There’s a growing “anti-Biden” movement amongst the local Arab-American community, thanks to the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war and the role the U.S. plays in it. People from that community are threatening to vote in Tuesday’s primary, but instead of voting for Biden, they’ll vote “uncommitted.”
Matthew says it will be “very interesting” to keep an eye on the total of “uncommitted” votes in Michigan, and elsewhere.
“If there’s a substantial uncommitted vote, that’s not just like a low turnout thing. That’s people turned out just to not vote for him. That indicates a certain level of committedness to a position,” Matthew said, noting we’ll be able to see if the uncommitted vote is largely coming from the Muslim community in Dearborn or from all over the state.
Arab-Americans in Michigan protested Biden’s visit to Metro Detroit earlier this month, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Longtime pollster Bernie Porn, with Epic/MRA, says recent numbers reflect that, with 53% saying a ceasefire should be declared and 27% saying the war should be continued.
Porn says Biden’s stance on the war “is something that will have an impact on the election.”
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