Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) said she was “proud” to vote “uncommitted” instead of casting her vote for President Joe Biden in Michigan’s primary race Tuesday.
“I was proud today to walk in and pull a Democratic ballot and vote uncommitted,” Tlaib said in a video posted on X. “We must protect our democracy. We must make sure that our government is about us, about the people.”
Tlaib’s statements come in the wake of a movement in Michigan among Democrats to vote “uncommitted” to voice opposition to Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. There is a significant Arab and Muslim population in Michigan, particularly in the Dearborn area, that wants Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“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,’” Tlaib continued in her video on X. “Listen to the majority of Americans who are saying, ‘Enough. No more wars. No more using our dollars to fund genocide. No more.’”
Michigan is seen as a must-win state for the Biden campaign, a state he won by just 3 percentage points in 2020.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Tlaib, who is Palestinian American, says her dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s handling of the war is what is urging her to rally Michiganders behind voting uncommitted. In November, Tlaib was censured on the House floor for remarks she made about the war for using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” which has been condemned by Jewish groups for being antisemitic.
“I say this over and over again because I hope you hear me. You might — you must listen to the voices of the majority of Americans and the majority of Democrats who worked their butt off to get you elected,” Tlaib said in a December press conference. “You have to represent all of us, Mr. President. Not just some. Call for a ceasefire now.”