Nearly 50K Wisc. Voters Choose ‘Uninstructed’ Over Biden

(AP)

Just under 50,000 voters in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary Tuesday cast ballots for an “uninstructed” delegation in a protest vote against how President Joe Biden is handling the war between Israel and Hamas.

The approximately 48,000 votes, or about 8% of the total outcome, was more than 10 times as many as chose the “uninstructed” choice in 2020 while surpassing the general election margin separating Biden and former President Donald Trump, reports The Hill.

Meanwhile, only 2% of Republican voters in Wisconsin’s primary chose the “uninstructed” option.

“We had three weeks to pull off a presidential primary election,” the activist group Listen to Wisconsin said, celebrating the performance.

“Lots of tiring days and sleepless nights. But we would do it over again in a heartbeat,” the group said in a social media post. “Thank you, Wisconsin for making your voices heard today!”

In other states, protest votes have brought a total of 26 delegates, with Washington, Minnesota, and Michigan marking the strongest showings, but in Wisconsin, the “uninstructed” option did not result in any delegates, as that total did not go past the 15% support required.

Organizers in the movement set a goal of 20,000 votes, so the 48,000 cast more than doubled that target.

The votes come as critics call on Biden to back a full cease-fire in Gaza, which he is refusing to do, and after his criticism of the Israeli military action grows.

Progressive commentator Nina Turner applauded the vote, commenting on social media that Biden must “decide if loyalty to Netanyahu is worth delivering Trump the election in November. He must decide.”

The Biden administration has been pushing the Israeli government on civilian casualties and to let more humanitarian aid enter Gaza. The United Nations has warned that famine is beginning to set in in the region, with U.S. airdrops of aid falling too short of needs.

A planned pier in Gaza to deliver aid could take months, and according to the State Department, there are no plans for distributing the aid after the pier is finished.