President Joe Biden was sent a message by concerned voters in the solidly blue West Coast state of Washington, as the largest private sector union in the Evergreen State endorsed voting "uncommitted" over the president in the Democratic primary.
The Washington chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)—which has over 50,000 members—decided to withhold its support for Biden because it did not believe the president could beat his likely Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.
The Context
With Biden as the incumbent and Trump dominating in the primaries against former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Biden and Trump will likely battle again in November.
Biden, who calls himself the "most pro-union president," was able to secure the endorsement of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in January after standing on the picket line with the workers.
While the endorsement was seen as a boost for Biden in swing states like Michigan, the president was also sent a message by voters in that state's Democratic primary. In protest of the president's handling of the Israel-Hamas war, 13.3 percent voted "uncommitted." Biden, however, still won the primary with 81.1 percent of the vote.
Washington has been a blue state for decades, with Democrats winning every general election since 1988. In 2020, Biden defeated Trump in the state by nearly 20 points (58 to 39 percent).
What We Know
On Wednesday night, the executive board of the United Food and Commercial Workers' Washington chapter voted to endorse casting an "uncommitted" ballot during the state's primary on March 12.
"Currently, many voters, and UFCW 3000 executive board, feel that the best path to have the best nominee, and to defeat Trump, is to vote 'uncommitted,'" the union said in a statement. "The hope is that this will strengthen the Democratic Party's ultimate nominee to defeat Trump in the General Election in November."
While the union said Biden has been "an ally to workers over the last four years," it added: "We need a nominee who can run and beat Trump to protect workers across this country and around the world."
The union did say that it would help whoever ends up as the Democratic nominee, saying in the statement that it will be "sending staff, members, and resources to any swing state across the nation to support the Democratic nominee to win and defeat Trump."
The union endorsed Biden during his 2020 election campaign.
Newsweek reached out to Trump and Biden's campaigns via email for comment on Thursday. It also reached out to UFCW 3000 via an online form for comment.
The Views
In The Economist/YouGov Poll conducted from February 25 to February 27, Americans were split on for whom they would vote in a Biden-Trump rematch.
When poll respondents asked whom they would choose if an election were held now, Biden and Trump each garnered 44 percent of support. Five percent said they'd vote for "other," 4 percent said they were not sure and 4 percent said they would not vote.
However, when asked who they think would win an election between the two, regardless of their preference, 45 percent said Trump and 36 percent said Biden. The poll surveyed 1,688 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent.
What's Next?
Trump and Biden have won all of their respective state primaries and caucuses, aside from the Nevada Republican primary, in which Trump was not on the ballot. One big date on the campaign calendar is less than a week away: Super Tuesday, on March 5, when several states will hold their primary election or caucus.
Super Tuesday is generally crucial, as whoever ends up on top is able to gain momentum and break away from the rest of the primary candidates.
But this year, Biden and Trump's primary rivals have not offered much competition. But Haley has managed to show that quite a bit of Republicans would like a change from Trump, as she received 43.2 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire GOP primary and 39.5 percent in the South Carolina contest.
Update 2/29/24, 2:46 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 3/1/24, 9:50 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more
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