Abandon Harris says voters ‘cannot reward genocide’ as she campaigns in Michigan

A coalition of Muslim and Arab Americans who oppose the election of Vice President Kamala Harris released a letter Monday ahead of her appearance in Michigan urging voters to support a third-party candidate.

Michigan is the swing state with the largest concentration of Muslim voters, a group that has overwhelmingly backed Democrats in recent presidential races. However, those same voters are now angry and frustrated by the Biden-Harris administration’s inability to secure a cease-fire in the Middle East or end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Ms. Harris has three campaign appearances in Michigan on Monday as part of her concentrated effort to connect with the Muslim and Arab-American communities.

In the letter addressed to Ms. Harris, the Muslim and Arab-American voters told her not to bother, saying she is “not the lesser of two evils.” 

“Kamala Harris has actively funded and endorsed genocide, and we cannot reward such a leadership with a Harris-Walz ticket,” the letter said. “While the Republican Party under a Trump-Vance ticket offers no meaningful alternative, it is the Democratic Party, under Kamala Harris that has actively supported and sanctioned these international crimes against humanity since October 2023. They must not be rewarded.” 

The letter also calls on voters to support third-party candidates, though it doesn’t specifically identify anyone. Abandon Harris earlier this year endorsed Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.

“The moral imperative before us is clear: we must reject and hold accountable those who have actively harmed the most vulnerable to punish — up and down the ballot — any candidate who has prioritized funding apartheid and genocide in Palestine. Especially those in office under executive leadership,” the letter stated. 

Ms. Harris leads Mr. Trump by 0.8% in Michigan, according to data from FiveThirtyEight. 

Mr. Trump holds an edge over Ms. Harris with Arab voters nationwide, 45% to 43%, according to an Arab News/YouGov poll released last week. Those results are similar to a survey released earlier this month by the Arab American Institute, which found Mr. Trump with 42% of support and Ms. Harris with 41% of support among Arab Americans.

President Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes in 2020, but the state has more than 242,000 Muslim voters, according to the U.S. Religion Census. That could make a repeat victory for Democrats in Michigan a challenge this year.