The Washington Examiner’s Sarah Bedford argued that President Joe Biden should be concerned about the “significant” number of votes that were cast against him in the Michigan primary election.
Biden won the Democratic primary Tuesday with over 617,000 votes, roughly 81% of those cast. However, over 100,000 votes were cast for the “uncommitted” category, equal to around 13%. The election was held as many Michigan voters have spoken out against Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
“It was a significant number of Democrats who showed up, who took the time to show up in this primary to vote uncommitted,” Bedford said on Fox News at Night. “It was more than 17,000 votes this evening. That is greater than the margin that Hillary Clinton lost the election by in 2016.”
The large number of votes for “uncommitted” was driven by pro-Palestinian activists, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who said she was proud to vote uncommitted to “protect our democracy.” Organizers had said they were hoping for at least 10,000 “uncommitted” votes and ended up with at least 10 times their initial goal.
Bedford, the investigations editor for the Washington Examiner, was also asked about comments made by Jon Favreau about voters’ opinions of Biden. Favreau, the one-time speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, recently claimed that Biden’s voice sounds frail and that he appears to “shuffle” more lately.
“Well, to be frank, Trace, they see a president in decline,” Bedford said. “It’s why Donald Trump’s age, which is close on paper to Joe Biden’s, is not an issue while Biden’s is. Donald Trump now is the same Donald Trump of five years ago, of 10 years ago. The Joe Biden of today is noticeably less sharp than when he ran in 2020.”
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The Republican Party also held its primary in Michigan on Tuesday, in which former President Donald Trump emerged as the winner against former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. Should Trump and Biden win the nominations as president for their respective parties, it would set the stage for a rematch, as the two previously ran against each other in the 2020 presidential election.
Michigan, along with Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Wisconsin, is one of five battleground states that both parties are seeking to win in the presidential election. Biden won all five states in 2020, as did Trump in 2016.
