Biden Gaza protest vote wins big in New York and more primaries

New York, New York - Voters hit the polls in several states on Tuesday as President Joe Biden sees growing opposition to his support for Israel's assault on Gaza.

The Leave It Blank NY campaign urged New York voters to cast blank Democratic presidential primary ballots to protest President Joe Biden's support for Israel's Gaza siege.
The Leave It Blank NY campaign urged New York voters to cast blank Democratic presidential primary ballots to protest President Joe Biden's support for Israel's Gaza siege.  © Adam Gray / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Biden won the New York Democratic presidential primary with 91.5% of the vote, according to the New York Times. Challenger Marianne Williamson took home 4.9%, falling well short of the threshold for delegates at the Democratic National Convention.

Official results do not yet reflect the number of blank ballots submitted – an option that has been tied to a protest campaign against Biden's support for Israel's genocidal acts in Gaza.

Social media is flooded with images of voters casting blank ballots in the election in solidarity with Palestinians under siege. The option was endorsed by dozens of New York-based organizations as well as prominent celebrities like Mark Ruffalo and Cynthia Nixon.

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The Leave It Blank NY campaign said that although official numbers are not yet available to the public, they consider their efforts a success.

In addition to building a strong coalition for peace, "we made the story of this election about the fight for a ceasefire now," the campaign shared on X.

"President Biden just approved more weapons days ago and is already poised to send more in the coming days. Every day that he refuses to listen to his base and fight for a ceasefire now, he hurts his November chances and puts our democracy at risk. We hope he listens."

Meanwhile, Donald Trump won the New York Republican presidential primary with 82.1% of the vote. Nikki Haley – who suspended her campaign after Super Tuesday – got 12.9%.

Wisconsin voters cast uninstructed ballots in solidarity with Palestine

Over three weeks, the Wisconsin Vote Uninstructed campaign encouraged voters to cast their Democratic presidential primary ballots in solidarity with besieged Palestinians.
Over three weeks, the Wisconsin Vote Uninstructed campaign encouraged voters to cast their Democratic presidential primary ballots in solidarity with besieged Palestinians.  © Screenshot/X/@listentowi

Voters in the swing state of Wisconsin also displayed strong support for Palestine at the ballot box.

Biden secured 88.6% of the vote in the Democratic presidential primary, while 8.4% of ballots were cast uninstructed – the Badger State's version of the protest vote rocking the country.

"We had three weeks to pull off a presidential primary election. Lots of tiring days and sleepless nights. But we would do it over again in a heartbeat," the Wisconsin Vote Uninstructed campaign posted on X.

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"Thank you Wisconsin for making your voices heard today."

Trump got 79.2% of the vote in the Republican primary. Haley scored 12.8%.

More states cast ballots in 2024 presidential primaries

Several other states also held primaries on Tuesday.

In Connecticut, Biden secured 84.8% of the vote, while the uncommitted option took 11.5%. Trump got 77.9% in the GOP race to Haley's 13.9%.

Rhode Island went 82.6% for Biden, with 14.9% of ballots cast uncommitted. Trump won 84.4% of the vote in the GOP primary. Haley followed with 10.7%.

Biden's home state of Delaware did not hold its primaries as scheduled, as the incumbent president and his predecessor were the only names on their respective tickets.

Biden and Trump – who have both secured the delegates necessary to win their party nominations – are expected to face each other in the general election on November 5.

Cover photo: Adam Gray / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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