US uncommitted movement refuses to endorse Kamal Harris, citing Gaza policy concerns

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Uncommitted National Movement, an organization that is mobilizing "uncommitted" primary votes in protest of the Biden administration's policy in the Gaza Strip, announced Thursday it would not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

"Vice President Harris’s unwillingness to shift on unconditional weapons policy or to even make a clear campaign statement in support of upholding existing U.S. and international human rights law has made it impossible for us to endorse her," the group said in a statement.

It said it opposes a Donald Trump presidency and is not recommending a third-party vote in the presidential election.

"We urge Uncommitted voters to register anti-Trump votes and vote up and down the ballot. Our focus remains on building a broad anti-war coalition both inside and outside the Democratic Party," it added.

The announcement came as Harris prepares to visit the state of Michigan and appear at a campaign event alongside Oprah Winfrey.

The Uncommitted Movement has been encouraging Democratic voters to select “uncommitted” on their ballots in state primary elections as a way to voice disapproval of the Biden-Harris administration's policy on Gaza.

The campaign reported that 800,000 voters nationwide have cast "uncommitted" votes.

More than 100,000 Democratic voters in Michigan selected “uncommitted” in that state's presidential primary election in February, after the campaign encouraged voters to protest the Gaza policy of President Joe Biden, who had been seeking reelection.

Michigan is a crucial battleground state with more than 300,000 people of Middle Eastern and North African descent, making up about 3.1% of the state's population.

In 2020, Biden defeated Trump in Michigan by a margin of just over 150,000 votes, a significant contrast to 2016, when Trump won by less than 11,000 votes against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.