The last week was a whirlwind for United States primary politics. The Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump cannot be excluded from state primary ballots just in time for Super Tuesday and President Joe Biden got a (well-deserved) slap in the face from 101,000 Democrats in Michigan who voted “uncommitted.”

Super Tuesday turned out pretty much as expected: Biden won each of the 15 Democratic state primaries and Trump won most of the GOP’s. In a hilarious turn of events, Biden lost the six delegates from the Democratic caucus in American Samoa to little-known candidate Jason Palmer, although only 91 people voted, and they are not even allowed to participate in the general election.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

Trump has lost two races to former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, though she only won a measly 19 delegates from the District of Columbia and just nine from Vermont. She fought the good fight, but at 7:57 p.m. I received a text noting, “Haley just cleared all her events from her website calendar,” and I knew it was over for her.

Wednesday morning, Haley officially suspended her campaign for president, ceding the Republican nomination to Trump. What she didn’t do, though, is endorse him. 

In a refreshing change of pace, Haley said, “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond who did not support him.” I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care about those votes, but I appreciate her democratic sentiment.

Honestly, there’s not a whole lot left to say about the presidential primary races because it is clear that Biden and Trump will be the Democratic and Republican party nominees, respectively. We all knew it was coming, but it was fun to pontificate on alternate outcomes while it lasted.

But there is something to be said for the organizers in Michigan who wouldn’t let Biden sit back and relax despite not having a major opponent. Listen To Michigan’s effort to turn out 10,000 voters for “uncommitted” — Trump won Michigan in 2016 by only about 11,000 votes — succeeded tenfold.

This was a concerted effort by the Arab and Muslim American communities and other grassroots organizers to protest Biden’s lack of concern for Palestinian lives and hold him accountable for his financial support of Israel. Biden only won Michigan by approximately 150,000 votes in 2020, so losing 101,000 votes should worry him, although his lack of response isn’t promising.

Their effort did not stop in Michigan: “Uncommitted” had some wins on Super Tuesday as well. In Minnesota, “uncommitted” won 19% of the Democratic primary vote, and “no preference” won almost 13% in North Carolina and more than 9% in Massachusetts. Colorado and Tennessee each also saw about 8% of the vote go to an uncommitted option.

Listen to Michigan’s website states, “Biden must earn our vote through a dramatic change in policy.” Haley’s remarks about Trump were almost the same — if only our country’s politicians would actually listen to outcries for the simplest premise of democracy.

This race has made it overwhelmingly clear neither of the major party bases are satisfied with their current party establishment. Trump has lost a substantial number of Republican voters to Haley in almost every GOP primary, and Democrats have not been quiet about their issues with Biden. Yet here we are, facing a 2020 rematch.

Today, we will hear from Biden in the State of the Union address, in which, according to his chief of staff, he will spend a significant amount of time “talking about the massive toll on innocent civilians in Gaza.” It also happens to be the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, in which police brutalized unarmed demonstrators.

Just a few days ago, Vice President Kamala Harris invoked the power of Bloody Sunday when she stood on the same bridge in Selma where Black protestors were beaten and called for an immediate six-week ceasefire in Gaza. Many said her words were too little, too late — and I agree.

The images of violence broadcasted to the American people on Bloody Sunday helped consolidate support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I can’t help but wonder when the images of violence in Gaza — and the thousands of people voting in protest — will be enough for Biden to end his support of a military campaign that has killed over 25,000 innocent civilians.

Kate McQuarrie is a senior writing about the 2024 election cycle as it unfolds. She is also an opinion editor at the Daily Trojan. Her column, “The Ballot Box,” runs every other Thursday.