Progressive activists take victory lap after tens of thousands of Democrats cast protest votes against Biden
Fox News
President Biden’s campaign received a significant amount of “protest votes” in Tuesday night’s primaries, adding to the narrative that the campaign is having a difficult time uniting a fractured party base.
In the Wisconsin Democratic primary, 8.4% of voters selected the “uninstructed” option rather than vote for President Biden, which amounted to almost 48,000 votes. Additionally, 17,553 votes, 3.1%, were cast for Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips who is no longer in the race.
In Connecticut, the vote total for “uncommitted” was 11.5%, just under 8,000 votes. In Rhode Island, 14.9% of voters were “uncommitted” which totaled just under 4,000 votes.
The uncommitted results came after activists across several states have pushed voters to refrain from voting for Biden in protest over various issues, including the White House’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Some of those activists in Wisconsin took a victory lap Wednesday after votes rolled in.
“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.
BIDEN CONCEDES TO PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS AFTER MULTIPLE INTERRUPTIONS: ‘THEY HAVE A POINT’
“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.”
Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 over Trump by just over 20,000 votes.
Voters choosing to remain uncommitted rather than vote for Biden has become a theme during this primary season, including on Super Tuesday, when tens of thousands of voters in about half a dozen states declined to support him.
“This president must decide if loyalty to Netanyahu is worth delivering Trump the election in November,” progressive activist Nina Turner posted on X in response to Tuesday’s results. “He must decide.”
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
On the Republican side, a noticeable number of voters also opted against voting for Trump.
In Wisconsin, former Ambassador Nikki Haley received 12.8% of the vote. Just over 76,000 voters voted for her even though she is no longer in the race. Former Gov. Ron DeSantis earned 3.4% of the vote, and “uninstructed” received 2.1%.
“What they’re reading in Wisconsin,” Biden campaign Rapid Response Director Ammar Moussa posted on X after Trump’s performance. “Donald Trump, minus 120,000 Wisconsin GOP votes, becomes Tuesday’s biggest loser.
Just over 6,000 Connecticut voters, about 14%, voted for Haley in that GOP primary.
In Rhode Island, Haley received 10% of the vote, which was about 1,300 voters.