Why these Arizona Democrats don't want you to vote for Joe Biden in the March 19 election

One week ahead of Arizona’s March 19 presidential preference election, a coalition of Democratic groups in Arizona is mounting an effort to protest President Joe Biden’s handling of Israel’s military campaign into Gaza.

Organizers of the “Vote Ceasefire AZ,” or #VoteCeasefireAZ, campaign are urging Democrats to cast their ballots for Marianne Williamson, the author and presidential candidate who has for months advocated a ceasefire, instead of Biden.

“We are advocating that pro-peace Democrats concentrate our votes for Williamson to show in one number on election night how many votes Biden still has to earn by dramatically changing policy on this humanitarian crisis,” Mohyeddin Abdulaziz, a Palestinian Arab American community activist and founder of the Arizona Palestine Network, said in a written statement.

The activists’ concerns center on the latest wave of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israel’s military campaign into Gaza, waged in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks that killed around 1,200 Israeli civilians, has drawn outcry from progressives over its steep humanitarian toll. The Palestinian enclave is expected to face famine in the coming months if the fighting continues, and the local Hamas-run health ministry estimates that upwards of 30,000 people have been killed.

What is Biden's position on Gaza?

In the months since Oct. 7, Biden has gradually adopted a sterner tone towards the military campaign, which Israel says is necessary to root out Hamas. After appealing to Israel to improve humanitarian access in Gaza by land, the president announced last week that the U.S. will set up a temporary pier on Gaza’s coast to deliver aid into the territory.

Biden said in a weekend interview on MSNBC that Israel’s prime minister “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost” in Gaza.

"He's hurting Israel more than helping Israel. … It's contrary to what Israel stands for,” Biden said. “And I think it's a big mistake."

Biden said “we need a ceasefire” as he attempts to negotiate a temporary peace deal between Israel and Hamas. Organizers say that is not enough.

“To be dropping humanitarian aid at the same time that we’re sending bombs that Israel is dropping, and killing people, makes no sense,” said Kai Newkirk, an organizer of the protest vote campaign in Arizona. “Biden can’t just say he wants a ceasefire. He has to use the full power of the government to demand it and secure it.”

Newkirk said that would involve ceasing U.S. military aid to Israel, an action some progressives have argued is required under U.S. law.

In a written statement, Biden’s campaign said the president is “working tirelessly” towards peace.

"The President believes making your voice heard and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans. He is working toward an end to the violence and a just, lasting peace in the Middle East,” Lauren Hitt, a campaign spokesperson, wrote in a statement to The Arizona Republic.

Who is Marianne Williamson?

Williamson, a self-help author and Oprah’s former spiritual leader, launched her White House bid in March 2023 after unsuccessfully running for president in 2020. She has told the USA TODAY Network that she is campaigning to change an “unsustainable status quo” she believes is hurting the middle class and creating hopelessness for the American people.

Williamson suspended her campaign in early February after she failed to garner support among voters in the New Hampshire and South Carolina Democratic primaries. She revived it three weeks later, after Biden faced a sizable protest vote in Michigan's primary.

She has called for creating a U.S. Department of Peace, which would support efforts to end conflicts, coordinate humanitarian assistance and create a U.S. Peace Academy working with the U.S. Military Academy. She has also proposed launching a 10- to 20-year plan for “turning a wartime economy into a peace-time economy,” which would involve shifting current investments to building schools, infrastructure and more.

Williamson was an early advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza.

"We need three things: 1) Ceasefire. 2) Release of the hostages. 3) A plan for a two-state solution," she wrote on social media in November.

Organizers of the Arizona protest vote campaign say they aren't endorsing Williamson, but that voting for her is the clearest way to voice disapproval towards Biden.

Have protest votes worked in other states?

Biden has coasted to easy victories so far in the primary, securing overwhelming majorities of the vote in most states. He appears to have lost a sizable percentage of votes in some states that had concerted protest efforts, such as Michigan and Minnesota. Though in other states, including Massachusetts, the “uncommitted” vote was proportionally smaller than it was in the Democratic primary in 2012, when incumbent President Barack Obama was running for re-election, according to a Washington Post analysis.

In Arizona, one of few competitive states in the upcoming presidential election, activists say they are trying to send a message to Biden that he needs to change course to earn their votes in November.

Their goal is 10,000 votes for Williamson: roughly Biden’s margin of victory in Arizona in 2020.

If they reach that benchmark, “it will effectively deliver the message we’re seeing across the country, the message a majority of Democrats continue to cry out: we need a permanent ceasefire now; we must save what lives we can,” Patti Serrano, an Arizona Democratic Party State Committee Member, said in a written statement.

“This means Biden must listen to his base and represent us by changing course and stopping the support of Israel’s war crimes if he intends to earn the votes he needs to defeat (expected opponent former President Donald) Trump and prevail again in our must-win state.”

The issue has bitterly divided Arizona Democrats. In January, conflicting factions within the state party hammered out a compromise resolution calling for a lasting humanitarian cease-fire.

The topic has also haunted Biden and his surrogates on the campaign trail as he gears up for the 2024 election.

During their recent visits to Arizona, protesters have questioned Vice President Kamala Harris and interrupted first lady Jill Biden about the topic.

When is Arizona's presidential preference election?

Early voting for Arizona's presidential preference election began Feb. 21. The last day to vote early in-person is March 15. The deadlines to request a ballot by mail, and to mail back your ballot, have already passed.

Election day is on Tuesday, March 19.

Only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in the presidential preference election.

Joey Garrison of USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Laura Gersony covers national politics for the Arizona Republic. Contact her at [email protected] or 480-372-0389.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona primary: Progressives push for anti-Biden protest votes