Following the Michigan primary results, which included more than 100,000 “uncommitted” Democratic votes, President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign was faced with a potentially election-defining rift within his own party.
With Super Tuesday approaching next week and other major primary dates shortly thereafter, the protest votes are expected to spread to other states.
An influential labor union in Washington has officially endorsed the “uncommitted” option over Biden ahead of that state’s March 12 primary.
While many supporters of the movement have specifically cited the current administration’s policy regarding Israel’s war against Hamas as the reason for their resistance, the United Food and Commercial Workers state chapter cited a broader concern.
“Currently, many voters, and UFCW 3000 executive board, feel that the best path to have the best nominee, and to defeat [Republican front-runner Donald] Trump, is to vote ‘uncommitted,’” the union explained. “The hope is that this will strengthen the Democratic party’s ultimate nominee to defeat Trump in the General Election in November.”
The statement did not mention Biden directly and appeared to hold out hope that someone else would step in as the party’s nominee before the general election, concluding: “We need a nominee who can run and beat Trump to protect workers across this country and around the world.”
Other prominent voices in the state, including the editorial board of The Stranger, a weekly newspaper distributed in Seattle, have endorsed “uncommitted” ahead of the primary election.
“Unlike a protest vote for [Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Dean] Phillips [of Minnesota] or a throwaway write-in vote, voting for ‘uncommitted delegates’ delivers a message to Biden in a language he can hear and understand,” the board determined.
Similar movements are underway in other states, including Colorado, where a Denver-based activist is urging Democrats to support uncommitted delegates.
I'm voting for Noncommitted Delegate!!
Though it'll be late, if Biden's polls continue to suffer and a loss to Trump looks likely, it's up to the Dem Delegates in Chicago in August to fix this and nominate someone who can win. https://t.co/lcaG7965GS
— Deep Singh Badhesha (@DeepNotShallow) February 16, 2024
Saint Paul, Minnesota, City Councilmember Mitra Jalali offered a similar call to action.
“This is a chance for our communities who are impacted by this ongoing war, this conflict, that we have a chance to speak directly to our president who is running for election this year in our state to ask that he avert course,” she said.
