The Associated Press revealed on Saturday that top Democrats have spent weeks meeting with “uncommitted” voters and their allies, including a previously unreported sit-down between Vice President Kamala Harris and the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan.
The “uncommitted” movement has been sparked by dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. The meeting between Harris and the activists was part of an effort to respond to criticism in key swing states like Michigan, which has a significant Arab American population.
Weeks of meetings and calls between pro-Palestinian Arab activists and the Harris campaign have yielded progress in some areas, but their core policy demands remain unmet, according to AP. The activists want Harris to endorse an arms embargo to Israel and a permanent ceasefire. Harris has supported Biden’s negotiations for a ceasefire but rejected an arms embargo.
Questions remain about the leverage “uncommitted” voters hold now that Biden has stepped aside and Harris has taken his place, the report said, but Harris and her team have still made communication with Arab American leaders a priority.
During a campaign trip to Michigan last week, Harris met with Abdullah Hammoud, the 34-year-old mayor of Dearborn, a Detroit suburb that has the largest number of Arab Americans of any city in the United States. The meeting was disclosed by a person who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The person familiar with the meeting did not provide specific details but said the focus was on Harris’ potential policy, if elected, on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hammoud declined to comment.
“Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for the release of hostages,” her campaign said in a statement. “She will continue to meet with leaders from Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities, as she has throughout her vice presidency.”
Also, campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez on Thursday held separate one-on-one meetings with leaders in the Arab American community and “uncommitted” movement in metro Detroit, according to AP.
Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who met with Chavez Rodriguez, said she agreed that “the killing has to stop.” In response, Siblani said he pressed: “How? There is no plan.”
Lavora Barnes, the Democratic chair in Michigan, said the party would “continue working toward our goal of coming together to defeat Donald Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot.”
“We are committed to continuing these conversations with community leaders, activists and organizations because we want to ensure that everyone in the Michigan Democratic Party has a seat at the table,” Barnes said in a statement quoted by AP.