A top Democrat in a key Michigan county will not be supporting President Biden’s re-election bid, once again highlighting the president’s issues in the battleground state.
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, a Democrat, told the Detroit News that he does not intend to vote in the 2024 presidential election, citing his disdain for both President Biden and former President Trump.
“I don’t have an interest in voting for president, and I feel disappointed by that,” he said. “I dislike both candidates. All they do is talk negative about each other, instead of talking about themselves and their ideas.”
“I won’t work for him. I’ll let the people of Macomb make their own choice. I’m not voting for anyone just because a political party tells me I have to,” Hackel added.
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Democrat consultant Adolph Mongo stated that Hackel’s decision will hurt Biden, as the campaign will be forced to pour additional resources into the county. The Detroit News described Macomb County as “perhaps the most critical swing county of a top battleground state.”
“Biden has to do well in Macomb County,” Mongo said. “The county executive has straddled the fence for a long time. He's a Democrat in name only. He's a conservative guy. So, I'm not surprised he wants to sit out the election. Of course it hurts Biden. Democrats will have to put a lot more resources there.”
The Biden campaign has faced a number of headaches in Michigan due to his handling of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In the Wolverine State — which boasts a sizable Muslim American community — Biden was faced with an “uncommitted” campaign due to his handling of the war in Gaza. Registered democrats were encouraged to vote “uncommitted,” or write-in an additional candidate,
In total, more than 10 percent of Michigan Democrats voted against Biden, far surpassing the target goal of 10,000 votes.
The massive number of uncommitted voters far surpassed the margin of victory needed by then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016, who defeated Hilary Clinton by a little more than 11,000 votes. Votes against Biden also make up more than half of the president’s election victory in 2020, who carried Michigan by a little more than 150,000 votes.
“I was proud to walk in and pull a democratic ballot and vote uncommitted. We must protect our democracy. We must make sure that our government is about us, about the people. When 74% of Democrats in Michigan support a ceasefire, yet President Biden is not hearing us. This is the way we can use our democracy to say, listen, listen to Michigan, listen to the families right now that have been directly impacted,” said U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who organized the anti-Biden campaign.
Tlaib has thus far refused to support President Biden’ re-election bid.
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