Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ā€˜uncommittedā€™ in Michiganā€™s primary on Tuesday

Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ā€˜uncommittedā€™ in Michiganā€™s primary on Tuesday

Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, pushed back on calls to not vote for Joe Biden over his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying on Sunday that could help Trump get re-elected.

ā€œItā€™s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote thatā€™s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,ā€ she said on Sunday during an interview on CNNā€™s State of the Union. ā€œA second Trump term would be devastating. Not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban.ā€

Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Bidenā€™s 2024 campaign, also said she wasnā€™t sure what to expect when it came to the protest vote.

Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, urged Democrats last week to vote ā€œuncommittedā€ in Michiganā€™s 27 February primary.

  • Cataphract@lemmy.ml
    2Ā·
    10 months ago

    Itā€™s complicated and I could go into details about every nuanced situation for a few hours. A few highlights,

    There are 24 states that do not provide for statewide citizen-initiated ballot measures (link)

    Alaska for some reason is my favorite example

    Ballot Measure 2 supporters spent nearly $7 million and campaigned for a year and a half ahead of the election (outside state support). Brett Huber, campaign manager of the leading vote-no group, said his team ā€œhad a short amount of time and a lot less money, and we tried our bestā€ (opponents to RCV). Ballot Measure 2 has received the support of 50.55% of Alaskaā€™s voters (link)

    So its slightly possible, with millions of dollars from outside state support, years to campaign, and catching the main political parties unaware of your movements.