Leaders of #AbandonBiden movement declare victory and look towards general election
Arab and Muslim Americans who helped put Joe Biden into the White House in 2020 said his support of Israel's carnage in Gaza cost him significant vote losses in the primary elections
By Ray Hanania
FREE/Presidential Politics/Sunday June 9, 2024
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both easily won their party nominations in the nation's 50 primary elections, but opposition to Biden from Arab Americans during the nation’s presidential election primaries which ended last week raise serious questions about Biden’s chances for re-election.
Former supporters of the Arab American for Biden Committee accused Biden of “taking the community for granted” adding they regretted his disregard for the community’s concerns and were angered by his unlimited support he gave to Israel’s carnage in Gaza where more than 36,000 Palestinians, nearly half women, children and old people, were killed.
Leaders of the AbandonBiden movement and three other anti-Biden campaign groups led by Arabs, Muslims and progressives angry with the presidents support of Israel in the Gaza war, claimed victory following the final state primary this past week.
Although Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 Presidential election, he did so with razor-thin margins in several swing states that the AbandonBiden movement targeted. Votes rejecting Biden in those swing states surpassed Biden's margin of victory in most exposing vulnerability going into the Nov. 5, 2024 presidential election, AbandonBiden leaders said.
"The AbandonBiden movement's success lies in its ability to tap into the deep-seated frustrations of the electorate. By focusing on key states and leveraging our massive grass roots movement around the country, social media, and growing our influence with centers of power, we have created a wave of political change that cannot be ignored" AbandonBiden spokesperson Farah Khan told me in an interview.
"The sheer number of anti-Biden votes demonstrates that a significant portion of the population rejects criminal leadership that enables Genocide and is ready to move in a new direction. The history-making uncommitted votes our movement was able to garner, is a testament to our movement’s success and growth."
Other anti-Biden movements included "LeaveitBlank," "VoteUncommitted" and "ListentoMichigan."
Khan estimated that more than 15 million voters in the 50 state primaries rejected Biden either by casting "uncommitted," "write-in" or by withholding a vote for Biden while voting for candidates running in other state races.
"According to our estimates, approximately 15 million votes were cast specifically rejecting President Biden's re-election bid. This remarkable number underscores the widespread dissatisfaction and the effectiveness of the AbandonBiden campaign," Khan argued.
In the November election, each state has a certain number of "Electoral College Votes" (EC votes) based on population. To win the presidency, a candidate must win 270 EC votes. In 2020, Biden won 306 EC votes to Trump's 232 EC votes, a difference of 74 EC votes. Trump would only need 38 EC votes to reach 270 EC votes and defeat Biden, if the margins in other states remain relatively the same.
Khan predicted the anti-Biden votes cast in the 50 primaries shows that he could easily lose those votes in several key "swing states" where Biden's vote barely exceeded Trump's votes.
If Arab Americans can prevent Biden from winning just 36 EC votes in three states in the November 5, 2024 Presidential election, #AbandonBiden leaders said, Biden risks losing re-election.
The key swing states Biden won include: Michigan, 16 EC votes by a narrow 154,188 votes of more than 5.5 million votes cast; Arizona, 11 EC votes by a narrow 10,457 votes; Wisconsin's 10 EC votes by 20,682 votes; Georgia's 16 EC votes by 11,779 votes; and, Nevada's 6 EC votes by 33,596 votes.
Losing three or four of those swing states would prevent Biden from reaching the 270 EC votes he needs to win.
The AbandonBiden movement withheld significant votes in those swing states, an analysis of vote results shows.
· Michigan: there were 130,000 AbandonBiden votes, plus many thousands more that cast "blank" ballots. The "uncommitted" vote in the Biden race was 13.3 percent. There are more than 500,000 Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan.
· Arizona: the AbandonBiden vote totaled just under 40,000 votes.
· Wisconsin: more than 47,800 AbandonBiden votes were cast, nearly 8.3 percent of the total.
· Georgia: more than 6,000 voters or 2.2 percent, left their ballots blank, in what was considered a low state turnout. Turnout in primary elections are always lower than the general election turnout. In the 2020 General election, Biden won 2.5 million votes out of more than 4.9 million cast. In the Georgia Primary, only 221,605 voters cast votes for Biden and 11,00 more voted for other Democrats.
· Nevada: Biden only won 119,758 votes, while the "Other" vote category received 7,448 votes, while 6,881 votes went to 12 other Democratic candidates.
But Biden didn't just lose votes in the key swing states. He lost votes in other states where he had previously won showing a national weakness in his voter support.
· Pennsylvania Biden received 929,798 votes, or 93.1% of the Democratic total. About 50,000 voters wrote in alternative names or submitted blank votes.
· Minnesota, 45,914 or 18.9 percent of voters cast "uncommitted" votes.
· New York, 36,295, or 12 percent of the 302,465 total votes cast were "blank ballots."
· New Jersey, one of the last states to hold a primary election on June 4, more than 40,000 people voted for the “uncommitted” ballot option, rejecting Biden.
"The AbandonBiden movement's success is not just measured by the number of votes against Biden but by the broader conversation it has sparked about the future of American politics, and specifically its foreign policy," Khan explained.
"Americans now see on full display how the duopoly of both parties ignores international law when it suits their interests, however our movement seeks to expose this farce and provide an alternative path. Our movement aims to continue advocating for accountability, transparency, justice, peace and true representation for Muslims, Arab Americans, and all peace-seeking Americans of conscience."
The durability of the AbandonBiden movement is reflected in the several failed attempts Biden emissaries made to connect with Arab American and Muslim leaders in several of the key states.
Even many Arab Americans who had originally supported Biden have abandoned him, including Ghada ElNajjar who was active in 2020 with the group "Arab Americans for Biden," said President Biden's policies in Gaza have disappointed his supporters.
ElNajjar noted that she is "saddened that we were able to empower and galvanize the community behind a positive campaign in 2020, yet this time around, the most we'll do is tell the community to vote its conscience. I've never felt more disenfranchised."
Today, four years later, ElNajjar said "Our community is being taken for granted in the belief that there is no other choice. Of course, there are other choices outside of Trump.
"As an American, I do not want to see my government funding a genocide. As a Palestinian-American with family in Gaza, many of whom were killed, lost their homes, and are suffering from starvation and total despair, this is painful and personal. I cannot in good conscience support a president who willfully and repeatedly supplies the bombs to Israel that are daily killing my relatives and many innocent others."
ElNajjar concluded, "One thing should be made clear, Biden should never be elected again."
Officials of the Biden for President campaign committee in Washington D.C. did not respond to requests for comment.