Michigan Primary: Triumphal for Trump, Baleful for Biden

This story is still developing.

In Tuesday’s Michigan primary, the former President Donald Trump continued his unstoppable march to his third Republican presidential nomination, trouncing his sole remaining viable opponent, Nikki Haley. The Associated Press called the race at 9 p.m. Eastern; as of 10 p.m., the New York Times was projecting Trump would take a commanding 69 percent.

President Joe Biden also won easily, but a protest vote may presage trouble for the 46th president in his efforts to take one of the nation’s most important swing states.

Biden has faced challenges with the Muslim vote, which makes up a disproportionate share of the Michigan Democratic electorate; Muslim and Arab civil society organizations have been at odds with the president’s handling of the Israel–Hamas war. A grassroots effort sought to send a message to the White House by having voters choose the “uncommitted” option for president on their ballots. As of 10 p.m., before the state’s most heavily Muslim precincts reported their results, over 15,000 “uncommitted” votes had been tallied, handily topping the protest organizers’ 10,000-vote goal.

In 2016, Trump squeaked out a victory in Michigan by roughly 10,000 votes, so a depressed or rebellious Democratic base is a real danger for Biden, who won the state by a more comfortable 155,000 votes in 2020.

The post Michigan Primary: Triumphal for Trump, Baleful for Biden appeared first on The American Conservative.