President Joe Biden may have won almost all of Super Tuesday’s Democratic nominating contests, but voters opposing his support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza were still able to send him a strong message of dissent.
In Minnesota, almost 46,000 voters backed “uncommitted,” with the protest movement taking around 19 percent of the vote and finishing ahead of the likes of Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Marianne Williamson. Biden comfortably won the primary with over 70 percent, but the latest strong “uncommitted” performance eclipsed the percentage achieved in the shock result the protest campaign pulled off last week in Michigan.
Six other states—Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Tennessee—also had similar protest votes on their Democratic ballots on Tuesday. “No preference” took almost 13 percent of the vote in key battleground state North Carolina, while over 9 percent backed the same choice in Massachusetts.
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“The president believes making your voice heard and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans,” Lauren Hitt, a Biden campaign spokeswoman, said of the Minnesota results in a statement to The New York Times. “He shares the goal for an end to the violence and a just, lasting peace in the Middle East. He’s working tirelessly to that end.”
It’s not yet clear what effect the protests will have on Biden’s overall re-election chances, but some supporters of the “uncommitted” vote believe their actions are already having an impact on his administration and its efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Asma Nizami, an organizer of Vote Uncommitted in Minnesota, pointed to a speech delivered by Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza as evidence that the protesters are being listened to.
“I don’t think the vice president would have made such a sweeping statement if Super Tuesday wasn’t happening and we have been seeing the same thing with President Biden,” Nizami told Reuters. His administration can’t ignore the protests, she added, because the vote is “going national and because there are other states that are part of this.”
Biden himself has recently taken a more critical tone toward Israel’s handling of the conflict, describing its military operations as “over the top” and saying the humanitarian aid currently entering Gaza is “nowhere nearly enough.” The U.S. in recent days has joined other countries in airdropping meals into the enclave amid U.N. warnings that famine is “almost inevitable” without urgent action.
Israel launched its operations in Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, which left 1,200 people dead, according to Israeli estimates. More than 30,700 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s widespread operations began five months ago, according to Palestinian health officials.
