Biden, Trump win Michigan primaries; locally as well

By LARRY HOLCOMBE

lholcombe@yourdailglobe.com

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump were the winners of Tuesday’s Michigan Presidential primary. Locally, results mirrored the statewide count.

Biden won the Democrat primary with 81.1% of the statewide vote, followed by 13.3% of voters choosing “Uncommitted.” According the Associated Press, Biden gained 86 of the state’s 117 available delegates to this summer’s national convention.

On the Republican ticket, Trump garnered 68.2% of the vote, compared to 26.5% for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and 3% for “Uncommitted.” Trump won nine delegates and Haley earned two. The rest of the state’s 55 national convention delegates will be chosen at a coming state GOP convention.

In Gogebic County, Biden finished with 84.5% of the Democrat vote and “Uncommitted” had 9.7%. On the Republican side, Trump won with 75.0% of the vote, followed by Haley with 21.4% and 1.9% “Uncommited.”

According to the Gogebic County Clerk Ramona Collins, voter turnout across the county was 20.1%.

It was an open primary, where voters could choose either party’s ballot as they signed in to vote. Of the 2,769 votes in the county, 59% voted on Republican ballot and 41% voted using the Democrat ballot.

While absentee voting still occurred, this was the first election that had the state’s new nine days of early voting, mandated by state law for all state and federal elections. Early voting in Gogebic County was held at the courthouse in Bessemer Feb. 17-25. Each of the county’s nine cities and townships staffed the common polling place at the courthouse for a day.

Collins said they had 82 voters use the early voting option, adding there was a bit of a rush before church on Saturday and after church on Sunday.

There will be no early voting period for the May 7 Ironwood Area Schools millage renewal election, but there will be before the Aug. 6 state primary election and the Nov. 5 general election.

Ontonagon County

In Ontonagon County, Biden took 82.9% of the Democrat vote, compared to 11.8% “Uncommitted.”

Trump also won with 78.8% of the Republican vote, compared with 18.0% for Haley and 1.6% “Uncommitted.”

Across the county, voter turnout was 28.9%. Of the 1,633 presidential primary votes in the county, 67% were on the Republican ticket and 33% were on the Democrat ballot.

The county reported 69 voters cast their ballot during the early voting period.

Also on the ballot, a millage renewal for the Ontonagon Area School District passed 781 to 290, or 73% to 27%.

Michigan takeaways

Biden and Trump easily won their party’s primaries in Michigan, but Tuesday’s results showed that both candidates have cause for concern in their bid to win the swing state in November, according to the Associated Press.

An “uncommitted” vote in Michigan’s Democratic primary was the first indication of how backlash over President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza might impact his reelection campaign. Trump won his primary by a large margin, but support for rival Haley once again showed that some Republican voters may have misgivings about giving the former president another four years in the general election.

Michigan was the last major primary state before Super Tuesday, and both sides were watching closely for implications for the November general election in one of the few genuine swing states left in the country.

Biden has now cruised to victories over lesser known candidates in South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire, which he won in a write-in campaign. Tuesday’s results show that his standing is still strong in Michigan, which Biden returned to the Democratic column in 2020.

Trump has swept all five of the early state contests, including South Carolina, the home state of rival Haley. He now heads into Super Tuesday, when 15 states and one territory hold Republican nominating contests, as the overwhelming favorite to lock up the Republican nomination.

Michigan was one of three so-called blue wall states, including Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, that Trump won in 2016. He predicted a big win beforehand.

Michigan has become the focal point of Democratic frustration regarding the White House’s actions in the Israel-Hamas conflict. It has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the nation.

That anger came through loud and clear on Tuesday as 13% of voters marked “uncommitted” on their ballot in the Democratic primary. Biden still dominated the primary, but the result could be a concern in a state he won by less than 3% in 2020 and likely can’t afford to lose this year.

When Barack Obama ran for reelection in 2012, the last time a Democratic presidential incumbent sought re-election, the “uncommitted” option received 11%.

The “uncommitted” vote totals would need to be between 20 and 30 percentage points for Democrats to worry about their impact in November, said Richard Czuba, a pollster who has long tracked Michigan politics.

Despite Trump’s clear victory, Haley still saw significant support from the swing state’s Republicans.

Some of her best results came in Oakland and Kent counties, where Democrats have been gaining ground in recent years, contributing to their recent statewide success. All three statewide Republican candidates that Trump endorsed in the 2022 midterms were crushed by Democratic incumbents.

Editor’s note: The Assciated Press contributed to this report.