President Biden’s campaign garnered a considerable number of “protest votes” in Tuesday night’s primaries, contributing to the impression that the campaign is struggling to unite a split party base.
In Wisconsin’s Democratic primary, 8.4% of voters chose the “uninstructed” option instead of voting for President Biden, totaling nearly 48,000 votes. In addition, Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, who is no longer in the contest, received 17,553 votes, or 3.1%.
In Connecticut, the vote total for “uncommitted” was 11.5%, or just under 8,000 votes. In Rhode Island, 14.9% of voters were “uncommitted,” totaling little less than 4,000 votes.
The undecided results came as activists in numerous states urged voters not to vote for Biden in protest of a variety of concerns, including the White House’s handling of Israel’s battle with Hamas.
After the votes were counted on Wednesday, several of the Wisconsin activists celebrated.
“In Wisconsin alone, nearly 48,000 voters cast an unrestricted ballot in the Democratic presidential primary, far surpassing campaign goals and significantly exceeding President Biden’s margin of victory over Trump in the 2020 general election,” the progressive activist group Our Revolution said in a press release.
“Similarly, in Rhode Island and Connecticut, 15% and 12% of Democratic primary voters marked their ballots as ‘uncommitted,’ further amplifying the call for a bold redirection in policy.”
In 2020, Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin by just more over 20,000 votes.
Voters preferring to remain undecided rather than vote for Biden has become a recurring issue this primary season, notably on Super Tuesday, when tens of thousands of voters in approximately half a dozen states declined to back him.
“This president must decide if loyalty to Netanyahu is worth delivering Trump the election in November,” progressive activist Nina Turner wrote on X in response to Tuesday’s developments. “He must decide.”
On the Republican side, a sizable proportion of voters decided against voting for Trump.
In Wisconsin, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley received 12.8% of the vote. Despite the fact that she is no longer in the contest, she received just over 76,000 votes. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received 3.4% of the vote, while “uninstructed” got 2.1%.
“What they’re reading in Wisconsin,” Biden campaign Rapid Response Director Ammar Moussa wrote on X following Trump’s performance. “Donald Trump is Tuesday’s biggest loser, having lost 120,000 Wisconsin GOP votes.
In the GOP primary, little over 6,000 Connecticut voters, or nearly 14%, supported Haley.
In Rhode Island, Haley received 10% of the vote, which amounted to around 1,300 votes.