Minnesota is witnessing a record number of "uncommitted" protest votes

In the presidential primary, almost 45,000 Minnesota Democrats voted for "non-aligned" instead of supporting President Joe Biden, based on unofficial counts from nearly all precincts reported Tuesday night. This move was in protest against the Israel-Hamas conflict, aiming to exert political pressure on the White House to advocate for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza - reports ABC News.

Biden won 69 percent of the vote in Minnesota, but nearly 20 percent of voters voted for neither candidate. This, among other things, was the result of a protest by Muslim voters against the president's policies toward the Gaza war. Earlier, a similarly high proportion of votes for neither candidate was recorded in Michigan, another state with a concentration of Arab and Muslim diaspora

According to ABC News, this show of support exceeded the 7.8% of Democrats who voted for Minnesota's own U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, who embarked on an unlikely bid against Biden.

Organizers in Minnesota behind the "uncommitted" movement stated that the turnout exceeded their expectations and declared success in meeting their objective: conveying to the Biden administration that voters are dissatisfied with his stance on the war.

A coalition of Muslim voters and progressive Democrats, frustrated with Biden's alliance with Israel, hastily organized the Minnesota campaign at the last minute - reports the New York Times.

Source: ABC News, New York Times