Several weeks ago, after the South Carolina Primary, which Joe Biden won by over 95% of the vote, I said that I wouldn't pay too much attention to the incumbent race, unless something interesting happened.
And in Michigan, something did.
While covering these races, I have mostly talked about the races themselves, because the context of issues would quickly become too hard to follow--- plagues, world wars, famines, attempted coups--- it has been a confusing four years, to say the least. But in this case, an external event is key to understanding the race. In October, Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip, and Israel retaliated, and continued to retaliate. I will save my opinion on Israel and Palestine for another day, but the salient fact here is that Biden's support for Israel is a significant weakness for Biden among both the progressive and Arab-American population, with Arab-Americans being a significant minority in Michigan.
And much like "None of the Above" was an option in Nevada, "uncommitted" is an option in Michigan. Activists started a campaign for voters to choose "uncommitted", as a way to, if nothing else, pressure Biden on the need for a ceasefire in Gaza. As is often the case, it was unclear how successful this would be, but after the night was over, "uncommitted" had won 13% of the vote. Joe Biden had still won 81% of the vote.
What does this mean?
Currently, it is hard to say. If this is just something that is happening in Michigan, due to its demographics and the "uncommitted" option, than all it means is that Joe Biden has lost a whole two delegates. On the other hand, if it grows into a campaign in other states, it will reveal fault lines in the Democratic Party, with Biden's "conservative" foreign policy leanings becoming an issue. I am guessing that this will probably be clear after Super Tuesday. Also, it continues to be the case that Biden is outperforming Trump in the primaries.