‘Uncommitted’ supporters say results are clear warning to Biden | From NJ Monitor

By: Sophie Nieto-Munoz

More than 43,000 New Jerseyans cast a ballot for “uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential primary Tuesday in a protest vote targeted at the Biden administration’s pro-Israel policies.

President Joe Biden received more than 88% of the vote, but supporters of the uncommitted movement say that by winning 9%, they’ve shown the Biden administration how many New Jerseyans disapprove of his handling of the war in Gaza. Former Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer, a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s policy on the war, said the vote total sends an unequivocal message that Democrats are dissatisfied.

“We know that New Jersey is a state where very few people make a habit of voting in primaries because they usually are not contested, so the fact that a significant number of people did make that choice is powerful, and it was a good opportunity for people to express their perspective,” said Jaffer, a Democrat.

Uncommitted earned 43,758 votes, according to projected counts from the Associated Press. That’s a bit fewer than the 50,000 vote target organizers had before the election, said Isaac Jimenez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. But his takeaway is that plenty of Democrats are “not in lockstep with the Democratic Party at all.”

“This is a national movement and I’d say 40,000 people voting, it’s no small feat,” said Jimenez. “It’s a very clear warning that they are failing to recognize … that many young voters, many Arab or Muslim voters, especially in swing states, are not along for the ride in November until there’s a cease-fire.”

Read on at NJ Monitor

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Why You Should Vote “Uncommitted” on June 4 | Opinion from NJ.com