MichMash: Political pundits Adrian Hemond, John Sellek go in-depth on Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote
Democrat Adrian Hemond and Republican John Sellek of the organization Baldly Bipartisan join the show to discuss whether the “uncommitted” vote will impact the general election.
Eric Suter-Bull holds a Vote Uncommitted sign outside a voting location at Saline Intermediate School for the Michigan primary election in Dearborn, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Michigan is the last major primary state before Super Tuesday and a critical swing state in November's general election.
The Michigan primaries came and went and the results were predictable — save for the “uncommitted” campaign claiming 13% of the Democratic vote. MichMash host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben sat down with Adrian Hemond, a Democrat, and John Sellek, a Republican — both from the organization Baldly Bipartisan — to discuss whether the “uncommitted” vote will impact the election.
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In this episode:
- The impact of the “uncommitted” vote in the general election
- What Trump and Biden need to do to get more votes in Michigan
- Whether candidates can depend on the youth vote going into the general election
“In Great England they refer to this as a damp squib,” said Hemond of the “uncommitted” campaign in Michigan. He says while more Democratic voters in Michigan voted “uncommitted” in the primary than expected, 100,000 votes really shouldn’t worry the Biden camp when it comes to the November general election.
“This was a giant nothing burger,” he said. “‘Uncommitted’ got essentially the same percentage of the vote that it did in 2012.”
Being that the demographics for the next elections will be increasingly different from Michigan, the Baldly Bipartisan team suggested it is not likely for the “uncommitted” campaign to make much of an impact in the primaries.
Hemond and Sellek also spoke about where Trump and Biden should expect to draw their support from in November.
“Support for President Biden, from the epicenter of Dearborn to going outward to Dearborn Heights and Detroit and areas around there; there is a second layer that get affected by this movement which is the youth vote on our college campuses,” said Sellek.
More from WDET:
- Detroit Evening Report: Breaking down Michigan’s 2024 presidential primary results
- Campaign to vote ‘uncommitted’ exceeds expectations in Michigan Democratic primary
- The Metro: Michigan’s 2024 presidential primary has finally arrived
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