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LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Leaders of a Democratic protest vote movement against the Israel-Hamas war said Thursday that they would not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris ’ presidential bid but strongly urged their supporters to vote against Donald Trump in November.
The “Uncommitted” movement drew hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries earlier this year in protest of President Joe Biden ’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. The group’s leaders urged the administration to change its policy on the conflict, warning that some Democratic voters might otherwise abstain from voting in November, particularly in swing state Michigan.
Despite months of discussions with top Democratic officials, discontent within the protest-vote ranks only grew after the Democratic National Convention when they were denied a speaker on stage and other demands weren't met.
Harris' "unwillingness to shift on unconditional weapons policy or to even make a clear campaign statement in support of upholding existing U.S. and international human rights law has made it impossible for us to endorse her,” movement leaders said in a statement.
Group leaders also made clear in their statement that they strongly opposed supporters voting for Trump or a third-party candidate who “could help inadvertently deliver a Trump presidency.” Instead, they urged voters to register “anti-Trump votes and vote up and down the ballot.”
“In our assessment, our movement’s best hope for change lies in growing our anti-war organizing power, and that power would be severely undermined by a Trump administration,” the leaders said.
Harris' campaign did not directly address the group's announcement in a statement that said she would work to “earn every vote” and “unite our country.”
“She will continue working to bring the war in Gaza to an end in a way where Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination," the campaign said.
After the DNC failed to include a Palestinian American speaker as requested, the group asked Harris’ campaign to respond by Sept. 15 to their request for the vice president to meet with Palestinian American families in Michigan and to discuss their demands for halting arms sales to Israel and securing a permanent ceasefire. The group claims these demands were not met.
The movement began in Michigan when over 100,000 voters marked “Uncommitted,” in the state’s Democratic primary. The state is home to the nation's largest concentration of Arab Americans, making them an important electoral group as each presidential candidate attempts to win the crucial battleground state.
Both nominees have been actively trying to win over leaders in metro Detroit's large Arab American community. Last month, Harris met with the mayor of Dearborn, the nation’s largest Arab American community, while on Tuesday, Trump sat down with the mayor of Hamtramck, a majority-Muslim city in metro Detroit, seeking his endorsement.