Abandon Biden campaign relaunches, targets Harris in key swing states
The Abandon Biden campaign is relaunching and “intensifying” its campaign, this time focusing its efforts against Vice President Kamala Harris in key swing states.
The campaign released a statement on X last week, announcing that it is “ramping up efforts in key swing states to rally Muslim-Americans and their allies against the Harris-Walz ticket.”
“This action is a direct response to Kamala Harris’ support for the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” the Abandon Harris campaign said in the release.
The movement, which originated in the heavily-Muslim populated city of Dearborn, Michigan, first targeted the re-election campaign of President Biden during primary season, arguing that the president’s continued support for Israel made it necessary for the community to send a message to the Democratic Party.
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Along with movements such as the “Vote Uncommitted” movement that bubbled up in Dearborn around the same time, the campaigns were able to get over 100,000 voters to cast uncommitted ballots during the Michigan primary earlier this year.
Biden’s decision to drop out of the race in July and the subsequent elevation of Harris to the top of the ticket seemingly cracked the door open that members of the movement may be able to rally support for the Democratic ticket, but tensions between Harris and the campaign’s leaders have continued as the vice president has failed to fully commit to their demands.
“We are not interested in hollow rhetoric, empty platitudes, or shallow calls for a ceasefire while the Biden-Harris administration continues to send weapons to Israel, enabling the indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and fueling a wider regional conflict,” the campaign said in the release. “Words without meaningful action are meaningless, and the continued complicity in these atrocities will not be tolerated.”
During the primary season, the group was able to spread its influence from Michigan to Wisconsin, two critical swing states in November’s election. Both states have been decided by razor-thin margins in the previous two presidential elections, making the lack of support from a demographic that has leaned heavily Democratic for much of the last 20 years a potentially decisive factor in the states.
Professor Hassan Abdel Salam, founder of Abandon Biden, speaks to a few dozen fellow pro Palestinian activists gathering outside of the Biden campaign rally at the A. Phillip Randolph Vocational Technical Center in Detroit, Michigan, on July 12, 2024, to protest the Biden administration’s support for Israeli attacks on Gaza. ((Photo by Adam J. Dewey/Anadolu via Getty Images))
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As of Sunday, the Real Clear Politics Polling average shows Harris with slim leads in both states, coming in with a 1.1 point lead in Michigan and a 1.4 point lead in Wisconsin.
The campaign has also looked to expand to other swing states, having had success pivoting to states such as Minnesota during the primary season.
While the group did not offer support for the campaign of former President Donald Trump, it urged supporters “to avoid falling into the complacent trap of abstaining from the 2024 election” and “to vote against genocide and to support third-party candidates as a clear message that we reject any party that participates in or supports genocide.”
“At this time, we have not issued an endorsement of any specific third-party candidate. If and when that changes, we will announce it,” the release said.
Demonstrators with the group “Abandon Biden” hold signs during a news conference prior to President Joe Biden’s visit in Saginaw, Michigan, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Photographer: Nic Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Abandon Biden, now Abandon Harris, will not cede a single inch,” the release continued. “We remain firm and steadfast in our convictions and our mission to ensure that the party currently supporting, funding and enabling the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is defeated at the polls.”
Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Abandon Harris said that the campaign had “extended an olive branch to Kamala Harris and expressed our openness to dialogue” after Biden’s decision to drop out of the race.
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“After nearly a month of waiting, during which she had a disastrous rally in Michigan where she inadvertently revealed her stance on those protesting the genocide in Gaza, we launched Abandon Harris on August 19,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the organization believes there is nothing Harris can do to regain their support, but noted that they do not encourage anyone to vote for Trump.
“We remember Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, as well as his stance during Gaza’s Great March of Return,” the spokesperson said. “We have consistently urged voters not to support either the Democratic or Republican parties, while also making it clear that sitting out the election is not an acceptable option.”
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
