The latter designation is tied to the 'uncommitted' movement that rose to prominence in Michigan as many Democrats there protested against the administration for not backing a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. However, in Dane, he won roughly 84% of the vote, with 15% of primary voters selecting 'uninstructed' instead of backing the incumbent. Last week, Biden won nearly 89% of the vote in the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary, per unofficial AP results. But this year, recent polling has shown him lagging among the young and minority voters that he'll need to defeat Trump. In 2020, Biden easily won Dane County, emerging with a 181,000-vote margin over then-President Donald Trump en route to winning Wisconsin by roughly 20,000 votes. In Dane County, Wis., which contains the capital city of Madison and has become an increasingly pivotal part of the Democratic calculus for winning the key Midwestern swing state, The New York Times recently illustrated the challenges that Biden may face this year. But the Israel-Hamas war has complicated the party's hold on young voters and liberals in college towns.įor Democrats competing in statewide races across the country, one of the keys to winning close races is by running up the score in deep-blue college towns, filled with the sort of young and liberal voters who are a significant part of the party's base.Īnd as President Joe Biden aims to win reelection, it is in cities like Madison, Wis., and Chapel Hill, N.C., where the election will likely be won or lost, given the tight 2020 margins in the swing states.īut the traditional Democratic playbook for turning out the party's most reliable voters has hit a major roadblock over Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war, with young and liberal voters overwhelmingly opposed to the conflict in Gaza.

Democrats generally have well-tuned plans to turn out their party's most loyal base voters.

Michigan 2016 election results nytimes