Joe Biden and Donald Trump won their respective primaries in Michigan on Tuesday, but a glance under the hood of the results reveals serious concerns for both campaigns as they pivot to a likely November rematch that is looking more volatile by the day.
Biden’s victory in the Democratic primary came with a warning from progressives, young voters and Arab American Democrats in the form of an “uncommitted” protest vote: Change course on Israel’s war in Gaza or risk losing a significant chunk of support in what could be a decisive general election state.
On the GOP side, Trump’s win also failed to conceal a potentially damaging weakness. Once again, a sizable portion of Republicans came out to vote against the unquestioned leader of their party. That it happened in Michigan, one of the handful of states that swung from Trump in 2016 to Biden in 2020, gives those concerns – and the actions fueling them – outsize importance in a contest where both candidates need strong base turnout to stand a chance in November.
Here are the takeaways from the 2024 Michigan presidential primary:
November warning signs for Biden and Trump
Despite a recent tweak in rhetoric, and some eleventh-hour chatter about an imminent ceasefire, Biden and his team have stood by Israel’s right to defend itself. More than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, in response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel. And as the civilian death toll – including thousands of children – continues to rise, so too has pressure grown on Biden to publicly push for a ceasefire.
In the run-up to the primary, a coalition called Listen to Michigan asked Democrats unhappy with Biden’s handling of the war, along with those critical of the US role in arming…
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