Minnesota’s ‘stunning’ uncommitted vote reveals enduring problem for Biden

Analysts and advocates say the Super Tuesday results show the protest movement against Biden extends beyond Arab and Muslim voters.

The concept behind the Michigan protest was simple: Cast a vote for the “uncommitted” option in the Democratic primary, instead of supporting United States President Joe Biden.

But the backlash at the ballot box has since become a national movement, with key races in the Super Tuesday primaries revealing strong showings for “uncommitted” voters in other states too.

The idea, activists say, is to send a message that Democratic voters will not tolerate Biden’s unequivocal support for Israel’s war in Gaza. And that message appears to be gaining steam.

Last week, over 101,000 Michigan residents cast “uncommitted” ballots in the Democratic primary, for around 13 percent of the vote. This week, on Super Tuesday, Minnesota saw nearly 19 percent of its primary votes go to the “uncommitted” category — an even higher ratio of voters, despite the last-minute nature of the state’s protest.

That comes on top of similar efforts in Super Tuesday states like North Carolina and Massachusetts to rebuke Biden at the ballot box. The results mean that 11 Minnesota delegates, alongside two from Michigan, will represent the protest at the Democratic National Convention in August.