• Muslim-Americans in Michigan 'deeply dissatisfied with the current state of the nation, particularly U.S. support for the war on Gaza'

A new poll is offering insight into how Muslim-Americans in Michigan plan to vote in the November presidential election, and the findings might be surprising for some.

The Midwesterner
By The Midwesterner Staff
September 10, 2024

The survey from the Council on American Islamic Relations found 40% of Michigan’s Muslim-American voters plan to back Green Party candidate Jill Stein, while 18% support Republican former President Donald Trump, 12% want Vice President Kamala Harris, and 4% plan to vote for independent candidate Cornel West, Michigan Public Radioreports.

“Our latest survey reveals that American Muslim voters are highly engaged in the upcoming presidential election, open to supporting a diverse range of candidates and political parties, and deeply dissatisfied with the current state of the nation, particularly U.S. support for the war on Gaza,” Nihad Awad, CAIR’s national executive director, said in a statement.

“The poll also shows that an unusually high number of American Muslims planning to vote for third party candidates. With over 2.5 million American Muslim voters eligible to turn out in November, including in key swing states, elected officials and political candidates should engage with their Muslim constituents in the coming weeks,” Awad said.

The results in Michigan, home to the nation’s largest Arab population, follow widespread discontent with the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of Hamas’ war against Israel that compelled more than 100,000 to vote “uncommitted” during the state’s February Democratic presidential primary. Biden was declared the winner in Michigan over Trump in 2020 with a 154,188 vote margin.

The uncommitted movement, aimed at pressuring the Democratic candidate to call for a permanent ceasefire and halt all military aid to Israel, has since expanded to about 700,000 voters nationwide who have promised to withhold their vote for the Democratic ticket unless the Biden-Harris administration changes course.

The CAIR survey results for Michigan come as part of a broader poll of 1,159 Muslim voters conducted Aug. 25-27, after Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination at the party’s convention in Chicago.

Nationally, the poll found 29.4% of American Muslims plan to vote for Harris, 29.1% plan to vote for Stein, 11.2% for Trump, 4.2% for West, and less than 1% for Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver.

The poll found a sizeable 16.5% are yet undecided, while 8.8% don’t plan to vote.

“Before President Biden’s withdrawal, CAIR’s unreleased poll of over 2,500 Muslim American voters showed Biden (7.3%) and Trump (4.9%) each receiving less than 10% support of respondents compared to 36% for Jill Stein and 25.2% for Cornel West,” CAIR reports.

While Harris has remained aligned with Biden’s support for Israel, West has worked to court Arab voters in Dearborn through roundtable meetings with donors and Muslim community leaders, as well as campaign stops to address the “catastrophe” in Gaza that drew hundreds in Dearborn, according to Politico.

Both West and Stein are scheduled to address Arab Americans this week at a national convention for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Dearborn, where many remain frustrated with their choices for president, the Detroit Free Press reports.

“It breaks my heart as a Democrat because I thought human rights matter for everyone,” Terry Ahwal, director of the ADC’s Michigan chapter told the news site.

Harris is “better than Biden,” she said. “She’s using words like Palestinian dignity, but these are words when we continue to send weapons.”

“I’m still undecided and unhappy,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News. Harris’ “speech during the DNC was not really sufficient for me to make a decision. … She’s not different, she’s part of the administration. She has made it very clear what she will do when she becomes president. … And therefore, right now, Trump is not a choice, neither is Kamala Harris. But there are 60 days from today, and there is plenty of time for them.”

The CAIR survey found 69.1% of American Muslims said they generally vote for the Democratic Party, but 59.7% plan to cast their ballots for “other” parties in 2024. A staggering 94% said they disapprove of Biden’s job performance, with 98.2% dissatisfied with his handling of the conflict in Gaza.

“Despite this discontent, Muslim voters remain highly engaged, with 82.1% indicating they are ‘very likely’ to vote in the upcoming Presidential election,” CAIR reports.