The Uncommitted National Movement said in a statement Thursday that it will not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris while calling for its supporters to “block” a second term in office for former President Donald Trump.
The movement is responsible for organizing hundreds of thousands of protest votes against President Joe Biden during the 2024 Democratic primary over his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict and continued those protests last month at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
The movement’s delegates held a sit-down and other peaceful protests inside the security perimeter at the United Center in Chicago just hours before Harris delivered her nominee acceptance speech. The group gave the vice president a Sept. 15 deadline to meet with group leaders to discuss an arms embargo on Israel.
“Vice President Harris’s 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,” the movement wrote in a statement.
The Uncommitted National Movement is particularly active in Michigan, with large and influential Arab-American and Muslim populations. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American in Congress, has been a vocal opponent of the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel. Layla Elabed, co-founder of the movement and Tlaib’s sister, said in August that Harris was at risk of losing Michigan because voters “know firsthand the effects and the impact of American-funded bombing.”
Some Democrats have voiced concerns that progressive voters, who are protesting Israel’s war in Gaza, not turning out for Harris would hand the election to Trump, something the movement additionally addressed Thursday.
The movement said it “opposes a Donald Trump presidency, whose agenda includes plans to accelerate the killing in Gaza,” and “is not recommending a third-party vote” as “third-party votes in key swing states could help inadvertently deliver a Trump presidency given our country’s broken Electoral College system.”
“We must block Donald Trump, which is why we urge Uncommitted voters to vote against him,” the statement continued. “We urge Uncommitted voters to register anti-Trump votes and vote up and down the ballot.”
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Neither the Harris nor Trump campaigns responded to questions about the movement’s announcement.
Harris affirmed Tuesday that her policies supporting Israel would not be much different than Biden’s if she were elected president.