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President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump both won their respective Michigan primaries on Tuesday, further cementing the likelihood of an unpopular rematch between the 2020 candidates come November.
But despite Mr Biden’s comfortable victory, Democrats will have been closely watching the extent of the “uncommitted” vote on Michigan ballot papers, as the Great Lakes State became a focal point for discontent among the same voters who propelled the president to victory four years ago, with his unrelenting support for Israel’s actions in Gaza a principle cause of disquiet among many.
The number of “uncommitted” votes has already surpassed the 10,000-vote margin by which Mr Trump won Michigan in 2016, according to the AP, surpassing a goal set by the organisers of this year’s protest effort.
Despite underperforming, Mr Trump once again soared to victory over former UN ambassador Nikki Haley in the GOP contest.
His challenger has insisted on staying in the contest for Super Tuesday on 5 March, even after losing in her home state of South Carolina and Saturday and the support of the imporant Charles Koch-led conservative donor movement.
Recommended Trump previews 2024 Biden attacks in rambling 90-minute CPAC speech that veered from menace to slapstick Trump compares migrants to Hannibal Lecter as he says they are coming from ‘insane asylums’ Trump kisses and hugs flag and does strange swaying to music ahead of CPAC speech Trump agrees with Putin that Biden should be president Donald Trump calls wife Melania ‘Mercedes’ during live CPAC speech
Key Points Results in Michigan all but solidify prospect of Trump-Biden rematch Haley looks ahead to Michigan and Super Tuesday after defeat to Trump in South Carolina Haley’s home state comeback didn’t materialise. Now what? Democrats make case for Biden as Trump zeroes in on Republican nomination Schumer warn Republicans to ‘get serious’ to avert looming government shutdown
Show latest update 6 minutes ago Trump wins Michigan primary as Haley warns his candidacy would be ‘suicide for our country’
Donald Trump picked up another win in Michigan’s Republican primary on Tuesday but weathered a further attack from rival Nikki Haley, who told The Wall Street Journal that his candidacy would mean “suicide for out country” in some of her strongest criticism yet of the GOP presidential front-runner.
“This may be his survival mode to pay his legal fees and get out of some sort of legal peril, but this is like suicide for our country,” she the former UN ambassador of the man she served as president, who now faces four criminal indictments and 91 felony charges.
“We’ve got to realise that if we don’t have someone who can win a general election, all we are doing is caving to the socialist left.”
Haley has repeatedly pointed to polling that indicates she could beat Joe Biden in November, whereas the contest between the president and Trump is too close to call.
On her decision to stay in the race despite having no obvious path to victory, she pointed to the lack of public appetite for a rematch of the 2020 election by saying: “I’m doing what I believe 70 per cent of Americans want me to do.”
Certainly not everyone in Michigan is keen for more Trump.
Here’s Eric Garcia on last night’s primary.
Trump beats Haley in Michigan primary but underperforms expectations Former president Donald Trump defeated Nikki Haley in the Michigan Republican presidential primary on Tuesday evening, continuing his streak of victories as he marches toward his party’s nomination.
Joe Sommerlad 28 February 2024 11:00
35 minutes ago Top Michigan election officials expected expedited results
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said they are expecting election results “relatively sooner than in the past”.
She said it was because of the new law that “enables clerks to begin processing absentee ballots that were sent before today to begin processing them earlier than today”.
There were nearly 2,000 Michiganders registered to vote, she added.
Shweta Sharma 28 February 2024 10:30
1 hour ago From running mate to chief of staff, here’s who could be in a Trump administration in 2025
Nothing has captured the current political imagination more than the Trump veepstakes.
Given that Donald Trump is all but guaranteed to be the nominee, the choice to be his vice-president will explain to the voting public what we can expect from a future administration. And this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) offered the perfect exhibition match for would-be administration officials.
Jeffrey Lord, a political strategist who worked in the Reagan and Bush administrations, told The Independent at CPAC that Trump is most likely to pick either a female running mate or Tim Scott, the sole Black Republican senator who endorsed him last month.
From running mate to chief of staff, here’s who could be in a Trump administration Trump needs to pick a running mate who can appeal beyond his most devoted fans – while also staffing an administration filled with his acolytes, Eric Garcia and Holly Baxter report
Shweta Sharma 28 February 2024 09:45
2 hours ago Judge slaps down rogue Michigan Republican chairwoman who refused to leave post
A Michigan court has ruled in favour of one of the two duelling claimants to the leadership of the Michigan Republican Party.
Since 6 January this year, Kristina Karamo has insisted that she is the rightful chairwoman of the state party despite a group of her colleagues voting to remove her.
Following his win in the GOP Michigan primary on Tuesday, Donald Trump praised Pete Hoekstra, Ms Karamo’s replacement.
“This was a great day and Pete, congratulations. You’ll be a fantastic chairman, one of the best ever. I don’t know if you know he was a fantastic— just couldn’t be better as an ambassador— but before that he was a really successful and respected, highly respected congressman,” Mr Trump said, in remarks shared by his campaign.
Read the full story from Io Dodds here:
Judge slaps down rogue Michigan Republican chairwoman who refused to leave post The ruling could finally put an end to the bizarre chaos that has engulfed Michigan’s GOP since the election of Kristina Karamo in February 2023
Mike Bedigan 28 February 2024 09:00
2 hours ago Biden survives ‘uncommitted’ Democratic protest vote over Gaza to win Michigan primary
President Joe Biden survived plans by progressives and Arab-Americans to vote “uncommitted” in protest of his support for Israel to win the Michigan primary on Tuesday evening.
Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab-American populations in the country, specifically located in Dearborn, just outside of Detroit. As of late Tuesday evening, with 47 out of 48 per cent of its precincts reported, the city reported that 56.22 per cent of the city’s population voted “uncommitted” while 40.37 per cent of Dearborn turned out for Mr Biden.
As of early Wednesday morning, with a more than half of the vote reporting, Mr Biden received 81.1 per cent of the vote in the Democratic primary, while 13 percent of voters chose “uncommitted.” But much of Wayne County, the largest county in Michigan that houses a large part of Detroit, had yet to report its results.
Biden survives ‘uncommitted’ Democratic protest vote on Gaza to win Michigan primary Early results show the president surviving a pushback from younger and Arab-American voters in Michigan although the scale of those voting ‘uncommitted’ was not immediately clear
Shweta Sharma 28 February 2024 08:30
3 hours ago Listen to Michigan movement ‘emerged victorious tonight'
The #ListenToMichigan group, which advocated for Michiganders to cast their votes as “uncommitted” in the state’s Democratic primary, declared triumph and lauded the results of the day.
In a statement released on X, the group said it “emerged victorious tonight and massively surpassed our expectations”.
“President Biden has funded the bombs falling on the family members of people who live right here in Michigan. People who voted for him, who now feel completely betrayed,” the group said. “President Biden, listen to Michigan. Count us out, Joe.”
Shweta Sharma 28 February 2024 07:45
4 hours ago Washington stares down the barrel of the first shutdown of 2024
John Bowden writes:
Mike Johnson’s first big moment of 2024 is here.
With Congress under a 1 March deadline to reauthorise several major government programs, Washington is once again playing shutdown roulette. And all eyes are on the House of Representatives, where a two-vote GOP majority holds the chamber and Mr Johnson faces the constant threat of being ousted by his own colleagues.
On Friday, funding for a wide range of government programs under four major umbrellas will cease: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Energy and Water Development; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration. The immediate effects would not be devastating, though federal workers could see their paychecks suspended and many public-facing operations of government — like Veterans Affairs offices — would temporarily shutter.
Read the full story here:
Washington stares down the barrel of the first shutdown of 2024 Republican House faces risk — or opporunity — of paralysing US government
Mike Bedigan 28 February 2024 07:00
4 hours ago Pictures: Emotional ‘uncommitted’ supporters in Dearborn celebrate
“Uncommitted” supporters who organised a protest movement against Joe Biden’s support for Israel began celebrating after unofficial results were declared.
Pictures showed the supporters dancing to the tunes of traditional Palestinian music at a Lebanese restaurant in Dearborn. Many got emotional and hugged.
Initial results showed “uncommitted” – the Gaza protest vote – leading over Joe Biden, though with a significant drop from 74.5 per cent to 55.88 per cent, according to unofficial results.
(REUTERS)
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Shweta Sharma 28 February 2024 06:11
5 hours ago Michigan takeaways: Presidential primaries show warning signs for Trump and Biden
Joe Biden and Donald Trump easily won their parties’ primary in Michigan, but results showed that both candidates have cause for concern in their bid to win the swing state in November.
An “uncommitted” vote in Michigan‘s Democratic primary was the first indication of how backlash over President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza might impact his reelection campaign.
Mr Trump won his primary by a large margin, but support for rival Nikki Haley once again showed that some Republican voters may have misgivings about giving the former president another four years in the general election.
1. Biden, Trump each move closer to party’s nomination
Mr Biden has now cruised to victories over lesser known candidates in South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire, which he won in a write-in campaign.
Tuesday’s results show that his standing is still strong in Michigan, where Mr Biden returned to the Democratic column in 2020.
Mr Trump has swept all five of the early state contests, including South Carolina, the home state of rival Haley. He now heads into Super Tuesday, when 15 states and one territory hold Republican nominating contests, as the overwhelming favourite to lock up the Republican nomination.
2. Some Democrats express anger over Gaza with ‘uncommitted’ vote
Michigan has become the focal point of Democratic frustration regarding the White House’s actions in the Israel-Hamas conflict. It has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the nation.
That anger came through loud and clear on Tuesday as some voters marked “uncommitted” on their ballot in the Democratic primary. Mr Biden still dominated the primary, but the result could be a concern in a state he won by less than 3 per cent in 2020 and likely can’t afford to lose this year.
3. Some Republicans still oppose Trump
Despite Trump’s clear victory in Michigan, Ms Haley still saw significant support from the swing state’s Republicans. Some of her best results came in Oakland and Kent counties, where Democrats have been gaining ground in recent years, contributing to their recent statewide success. She also performed better in counties where the state’s largest universities are located, Washtenaw and Ingham counties.
Shweta Sharma 28 February 2024 05:55
5 hours ago Biden avoids mentioning ‘uncommitted’ vote or Gaza protest
President Biden did not mention the “uncommitted” votes or the protests against his Gaza war policy during his statement on Michigan’s results.
“I want to thank every Michigander who made their voice heard today. Exercising the right to vote and participating in our democracy is what makes America great,” Mr Biden said, according to a statement released by his campaign.
But he went all out against Donald Trump, who he said was “threatening to drag us even further into the past as he pursues revenge and retribution”.
Shweta Sharma 28 February 2024 05:43
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1/ 1Biden wins Michigan primary and Trump underperforms: Live
Biden wins Michigan primary and Trump underperforms: Live
Nikki Haley, Joe Biden and Donald Trump
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