Senate Democrat 'conflicted' about 'uncommitted' vote effort in Michigan primary

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said she is “conflicted” over the push to vote uncommitted instead of voting for President Biden in Michigan’s primary Tuesday.

Stabenow, who announced her retirement from the Senate last year, responded to protest efforts being made to vote uncommitted in the Democratic primary Tuesday instead of backing Biden, who carried the state in the 2020 primary and general elections. Many groups pushing the effort are pointing to the Biden administration’s refusal to back a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war as a reason to ditch the president.

“People who are wanting to be heard with the uncommitted vote have every right to do that. And, you know, it's so awful, so painful. We're such a wonderfully diverse state of Muslim, Christian, Jewish communities, so many different nationalities,” Stabenow said Tuesday on CNN's “This Morning.”

“So there's a lot of pain. We need to hear that, we need to understand that, we need to listen; it's incredibly important that the Biden administration is able to get now a temporary cease-fire but bring hostages home and be able to proceed to actually get real peace,” she added.

When pressed on previous comments Stabenow made, in which she reportedly said that the effort to vote uncommitted is “not helpful,” the Michigan Democrat conceded she is still conflicted on the subject.

“I really am conflicted on this. People need to be heard; they are being heard. I think they have done important things to be heard. And I, I really, really respect that,” she said. “I think when we look at the fall, and what is at stake for Michigan and the country, with Donald Trump versus Joe Biden, then we are going to have to work really, really hard to make sure, you know, everybody is coming together.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said it’s “possible” there could be up to 10,000 votes for uncommitted instead of Biden during an interview Monday with NBC News’s Gabe Gutierrez.

“I think there will be a sizable number of votes for uncommitted,” she said in the NBC interview. “I think that it is every person's right to make their statement about what's important to them.”

She also said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” she is “not sure” what will happen Tuesday as voters head to the polls.

“I’m just not sure what to expect,” Whitmer said. “I think this is our first time going this early in the process. There are a lot of pressures. And you never know with the weather — there are a lot of different things that can impact what happens Tuesday.”