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A lifelong Democratic supporter, Samraa Luqman proudly voted to re-elect Donald Trump as President of the United States. What drove her to cast her vote was a single issue, which will also become her voting consideration in this week's U.S. midterm elections.
"It's Gaza or it's gone," the Yemeni-American told BBC World Service's The Global Story. "If your stance on Gaza, Israel and Palestine is not good, we don't need you in office and we don't need to vote for you, no matter what party you belong to."
Angry over U.S. support for Israel, voters like Lukman, who have always supported Democrats, helped the Republican Party win in the key swing state of Michigan in 2024.
Similar concerns are now driving voters on both sides of the dispute to the polls, becoming an important factor in one of the most hotly contested races on the November ballot.
The tight race for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat will be critical in determining which party controls Congress for the remainder of Trump's term. Democrats need to keep this seat and Republicans need to take it. Yet come Election Day, the race appears to be too close to call.
One of the parties is Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. If elected on November 3, the doctor will become the first Muslim federal senator in the United States.
On the other side is Republican Mike Rogers. He is a former FBI agent and served in the House of Representatives for 14 years.
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While U.S. midterm elections typically revolve around domestic issues such as the economy and the cost of living, the war in Gaza has become almost a political litmus test for Michigan voters.
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For different reasons, both candidates emphasize U.S. spending on the conflict. According to data from Brown University's Costs of War project, related expenditures have exceeded US$31 billion (139.7 billion yuan; NT$686 billion) in the first two years.
Rogers, who was supported by Trump, said that the United States providing military assistance to Israel to support its military operations after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023 is related to U.S. national security.
El-Sayed, an outspoken progressive, has repeatedly condemned the use of U.S. taxpayer money to fund what he describes as genocide, a charge Israel strongly denies.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate and staunchly pro-Israel opponent Haley Stevens in the Michigan primary for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.
However, just two days before voting began on Tuesday (November 3), Stevens shocked his fellow Democrats by publicly supporting Rogers. She described the showdown between the two as a battle about "the conscience of the Senate" and a referendum on "hatred."
During the campaign, both sides were criticized for being riddled with anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic attacks; Stevens' shocking endorsement brought simmering ideological tensions to a boil.
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Michigan has the highest proportion of Arab Americans in the United States, as well as a sizable number of Jewish voters who have long supported Israel. Both communities have historically been important supporters of the Democratic Party.
But by 2024, the situation has changed. Dissatisfied with the Democratic Party's foreign policy in the Middle East, some Arab and Muslim voters launched the "Uncommitted" movement to express their dissatisfaction by refusing to support any candidate.
Voters like Lukman felt betrayed when the presidential nomination was handed to Kamala Harris, who promised to continue existing policies.
"I'm very angry because I've only supported Democrats for most of my life," she said. "The problem is not just that they didn't say the word 'ceasefire' or try to stop the genocide, but that they firmly said: 'We have done nothing wrong and we will continue these policies.'"
In response, Lukman joined the wave of Muslim voters supporting Trump. "I didn't just vote for him, I campaigned for him," she said.
But even though she now considers herself a Republican, Lukman still enthusiastically supports El-Sayed's bid for a Senate seat.
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Another Arab voter, Amer Zahar, said that the Democratic Party only began to accept pro-Palestinian candidates like El-Sayed after experiencing the wake-up call of the 2024 election.
"The Democratic Party doesn't always represent my voice, and I don't think it always represents the voice of our community," Zahar said.
"We have to create a revolution within the Democratic Party, and that's exactly what we're doing in 2024... So after that revolution and the victory of pro-Palestinian candidates, we have more of a sense of belonging there."
But while the evolving rifts within the Democratic Party may echo the concerns of many Arab voters, another group of voters is now expressing concerns about being abandoned.
Some have questioned El-Sayed's ability to protect the Jewish community in times of crisis. "Those who are hurt hurt others," he said in March, after a violent attack on the Temple Israel synagogue. The attackers lost relatives in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.
El-Sayed later apologized, saying he was not trying to justify the attack, but the move did not completely quell the controversy.
Aaron Starr, chairman of the Michigan Board of Rabbis, has publicly stated that he will not vote for El-Sayed. "That was really shocking," he said.
He told BBC Global Stories: "The majority of our community has always voted for the Democratic Party, but now feels that the words and actions of some members of the Democratic Party, not all of them, but the words and actions of certain candidates within the party, are endangering our security."
Like some Muslim Democratic voters in Michigan in 2024, some loyal Jewish Democratic voters are voting for Republican candidates now or not voting at all.
"I'm a Democrat, but first and foremost I have to trust that the people I'm voting for respect me, respect my politics, and respect my existence," said lawyer and University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker.
Aker has known El-Sayed for 20 years. The two went to college together, but Acker wasn't sure he would vote for his former classmate.
"In Abdul's worldview, it seems that Jews as individuals are acceptable, but Jews as a people are not. To me, that's very disturbing," he said.
Rogers, on the other hand, has been trying to win over the state's Jewish voters by presenting himself as a staunch friend of Israel. He also once called El-Said an "anti-Semite."
Critics accuse Rogers of stoking fears of Muslims by portraying his opponents as sympathetic to Islamic extremism. Both Rogers and Trump have alleged that El-Sayed, whose family is from Egypt, has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed has repeatedly distanced himself from the organization and denied any association.
For a sizable portion of the electorate, the bitter Senate race has not only exacerbated partisan divisions but also inflamed racial and ethnic tensions. However, David Freund, a Jewish voter who supported El-Sayed, is not too worried about the long-term consequences.
"Protecting the security of all minorities means defending all minorities," he said. "Jewish security is not maintained as a separate category called 'Jewish security'; it is part of a broader issue of democratic rights for everyone."
This article was originally written in English. We used artificial intelligence to assist in translation and was reviewed by BBC journalists before publication. Learn more about how we use artificial intelligence.
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