Where Gaza Protest Voters Stand Towards Election Day: NPR’s Programming of the Irregular Electron Protest
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Source: Where Gaza protest voters stand ahead of Election Day
The uncommitted movement in Flint, Michigan. Getting out there and showing concern about the outcome of the 2016 midterm elections in the occupied West Bank
MASTERS: Yeah, I suppose it could be. On Friday, Harris met briefly with a group of Arab American leaders in Flint, Michigan. That’s a key swing state. Uncommitted national group – they tell me they weren’t part of that discussion, though they met with her back in August very briefly. The Harris campaign’s director of outreach to Muslim and Arab American communities said that Harris had been steadfast in her support of the community. We will have to see how this goes as we await Election Day.
I think this got a lot of attention when people in Michigan voting without a preference went far beyond the margin in which Biden beat Trump four years ago. Polls showing an incredibly close race – IS this protest vote enough to tip things in favor of Trump in some of these states?
I have been reaching out to a lot of people, and so I am having some conversations. It’s hard. I can’t tell people to do something that I’m not ready to do, and I can’t currently vote for this. It looks like there will be no change.
MASTERS: Some have told me they will vote for Harris. Some say maybe a third party. They all are very clear with me they don’t want Trump back in the White House. People have started asking Dan how he feels about the election, since he has done a bunch of door- knocking for Democrats in the past.
The MASTERS are a series. So for her, she says she plans to personally skip voting at the top of the ticket. In down-ballot races people should vote, that’s why she stressed.
It’s difficult for the leaders of the uncommitted movement to not endorse Harris, but they aren’t endorsing other candidates like Trump or third party options. This is a decision each person will need to make for themselves. The co-founder of the national uncommitted movement is from Michigan and his family lives in the occupied West Bank.
MASTERS They are confused, and grappling with what to do as the violence in the Middle East continues to escalate. The voters looking at a ballot where they don’t really like their options at the top of the ticket have begun early voting in many states. Many of them tell me they feel like they have no good options, and the end of voting in the presidential election is just less than a month away. They haven’t seen Vice President Harris change her story about how she talks about Gaza.
MASTERS is a tv show. President Biden was the party’s candidate in Michigan in February but some voters went with uncommited votes because they did not agree with him. That pushed to voice their discontent spread to other states, like here in Minnesota. In all, 36 uncommitted delegates were allocated to the party’s national convention in Chicago this summer. That’s a small number compared to the more than, you know, 3,800 delegates who were pledged for President Biden and those who ultimately supported Harris. But the uncommitted delegates represent tens of thousands of Democratic voters who just couldn’t bring themselves to support the current administration and its stance on Gaza. The delegates tried to get the Democrats to let a Palestinian American speaker address the convention, but they were unsuccessful despite staging a sit-in.
Immigrant voters in Michigan have been drifting toward the Donald Trump presidency for four years, according to Saeed Khan, an associate professor at Wayne State University
The Republican message of self-reliance, smaller government, less government intrusion, and lower taxes appealed to many immigrants because it epitomized the American Dream that they had already internalize, according to Khan.
Saeed Khan, an associate professor of Near Eastern and Asian Studies at Wayne State University, said Muslim and Arab voters were drifting toward Trump in 2016, and some continue to do so today, not only because of a push away from Democrats, but also a pull toward the Republican party’s values. Many Arabs and Muslims, immigrant Muslims, voted for the Republican ticket at least until September 11 and then started to move toward the Democratic Party.
The state is part of the “blue wall,” along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, that she and Democrats need to hold to avoid a second Donald Trump presidency.
Ronald Brown, a political scientist at Wayne State University, said the main challenge was the enthusiasm gap. He said among Black voters in Michigan, those who were in the “black leadership class” — meaning serving in government, churches, Black fraternities and sororities — were highly likely to vote for Harris. However, those without deep connections to the party, especially working-class and poor Detroit residents, were susceptible to sitting out elections. In particular, he pointed to Detroit’s recent voter turnout — higher in 2020 than it was in 2016 — as a key factor explaining the state’s pick for Biden after it went for Trump four years earlier.
But the path to victory is not easy this year. Harris and Trump remain in a close battle, as his populist message continues to resonate with white voters and union and blue-collar workers, particularly on the economy.
Dave Dulio, a professor of political science and director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University, says “in places like Macomb County, with many blue-collar voters and union workers, Trump made inroads by pledging to get the U.S. out of bad trade deals and renegotiate NAFTA, which he did.”
Dulio states that if a small shift among union workers and Arabs leads to a big change in candidates, it could be because of the state’s significance.
Both candidates have heaped attention recently on the Wolverine State. On Oct 4, Harris visited a Redford Charter Township firehouse near Detroit, meeting union representatives. She met with Arab American and Muslim leaders, then appeared with the U.A.W. union President in Michigan to support the state’s auto industry. Trump held campaign events twice in September and took his presidential campaign to Saginaw Valley State University in Kochville Township on Oct. 3.
Michigan also plays to the strengths of the vice presidential nominees, who hail from the Midwest. Both Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have stumped in the state in the last month.
To better understand the issues that voters look at when they make electoral decisions, we will be in Michigan this week to hear directly from voters and political observers.
Michigan’s unemployment rate is historically low, according to state data, but it has slowly ticked up in recent months. Meanwhile, inflation has eased, but high costs of living remain a concern.
The decline of automobile manufacturing has continued and the high interest rates have also made it harder to buy cars in the state.
Source: It’s a close race for Michigan. These factors could decide it for Harris or Trump
Kamala Harris and the Detroit economy: What will Michigan voters decide next year about immigration reform, or how unions can influence Democratic policies?
Both parties are focused on the economy. GOP attack ads argue that Biden and Harris are responsible for inflation, while the vice president’s messaging focuses on plans to uplift the middle class and paint Trump-era tax cuts as benefiting the wealthy.
Harris could broaden the Democratic stance on economics by appealing to Black business owners and students with student debt, according to an expert.
“African Americans in Detroit have a lot of small businesses, and so we’re looking for capital for those kinds of small businesses. I think Kamala Harris is doing a great job of bringing the small businesses into the conversation,” Wilson explained.
Organized labor plays a key role in Michigan’s economy. Michigan’s union members accounted for more than 10% of the workers in the state last year. According to exit polls in 2020 Biden was favored by Michigan’s union voters over Trump, and the former vice president traveled to Wayne, Mich., to meet with the UAW workers striking.
Michigan pollster Bernie Porn said Biden’s visit to striking workers helped him bump up his union support, but his policies to advance electric vehicles with tax credits were unpopular with Independent and Republican voters.
He said that Harris leads among union members with more than half the votes as Biden did in 2020 and that he thinks the EVs are a problem.
Still, one encouraging sign for the Harris campaign could be Michigan’s local Teamsters union backing her candidacy, breaking with the national union that declined to endorse any candidate for U.S. president, after they had supported every Democratic candidate for president since Bill Clinton.
Source: It’s a close race for Michigan. These factors could decide it for Harris or Trump
The state needs more to decide it for Harris or Trump… and it’s coming: Why Michigan voters won’t re-electroweak
The right to abortion and other reproductive health services were secured when Michigan voters approved a landmark amendment to their constitution two years ago.
Dulio pointed out that Trump’s main weakness stems from what has driven Democratic success in every election — and not necessarily abortion since it’s already decided in the state: “His character remains a key weakness. He’s deeply unpopular because of the Jan. 6 spectacle and doubling down on his claims that the 2020 election was stolen. That just turns off persuadable voters,” he said.
Michigan is home to one of the largest Black populations in the nation, ahead of Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina, and the largest Black-majority city, Detroit.
“What could occur is that among working class and poor Black voters, lack of interest could lead to fatigue and this may drive those voters not to vote. And in Michigan, you don’t need many. You need more, he said.
“The Biden coalition included many working-class white men, a group Vice President Harris has struggled to win over. While there may have been losses there, the data I’ve seen shows significant gains due to increased enthusiasm among young people and people of color,” she said.
Source: It’s a close race for Michigan. These factors could decide it for Harris or Trump
The Detroit Metropolitan Area is the Capital of Arab America: the uncommitted movement vs. Biden’s 2020 primary protest against the Gaza and Lebanon conflict
The Detroit Metropolitan area has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the U.S. Dearborn, often called the Capital of Arab America, is home to a majority of Lebanese residents who maintain strong ties to southern Lebanon.
One of the co-founders of the “uncommitted movement,” Abbas Alawieh, backed Biden in 2020. More than 100,000 people voted in the Michigan primary to protest against Biden and his handling of the war in Gaza.
The conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon have made Alawieh feel more depressed as his family’s homeland is being ravaged by them.
This is a community that is grieving. It’s like giving a speech at a funeral when we give instructions to vote for someone when they’re part of the government killing family members.
Professor Dubio said the uncommitted movement has the potential to “have a huge impact,” and while he believes many of them will ultimately vote for Harris, he added, “it can’t and shouldn’t be ignored.”
Abbas mentioned sending letters to Vice President Harris’s team, including her national security advisor, requesting meetings with those directly affected by the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. “So far, the answer is no.”