BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — While more than 100,000 Michigan Democrats voted uncommitted this election, a record number of Republicans also checked the uncommitted box on their ballot.
While it’s certainly a much smaller amount than uncommitted Democrats, it’s still a meaningful number when added up with votes for Nikki Haley and other non-Donald Trump votes. It's a large segment of voters that could determine the outcome of November's election.
"I voted for Nikki Haley," Republican primary voter Adriano Camilleri said. "The other two candidates? Their time's up.”
The day after Michigan’s primary, there’s a lot of voters who feel like Camilleri. He says he's more of an independent but supported Haley on the Republican ticket. He's not sure what he'll do come November, given neither candidate has his support.
"Flip a coin? I mean really, I'm not sure,” Camilleri said. "Maybe an outside candidate? I'm open to that. I'm open to whatever is available.”
Nearly 300,000 Michigan Republicans cast a ballot for Haley — not to mention the more than 33,000 Republicans who voted uncommitted. It was the most ever in a Michigan Republican primary.
“When you look at the non-Trump votes on the GOP side, those total a lot more than the non-Biden votes on Democratic side,” Oakland University political science professor Dave Dulio said. “What remains astonishing to me is large majorities of Americans say they do not want to see this Trump-Biden rematch, but that is exactly what the system is going to give them."
Dulio says the decisive victories still expose problems for both sides, which need their parties to unite.
"The dissatisfaction with Biden is deeper, but the dissatisfaction with Trump is broader,” Dulio said. "In this election, maybe more than any in recent memory, it's more about the dislike for the other candidate.”
That being said, Dulio believes most non-Trump Republican voters will still come around and vote for Trump and most non-Biden Democrats will still vote for Biden.
“It's about reassurance, and some of that this time around will be playing against the negatives of the other candidate," Dulio said. "You might find an elevated level of voters who choose either to skip the presidential race or vote third party.”
“I don't want to see that rematch again. That's another reason why I voted for Nikki Haley," Republican voter Dianne Massa said.
When asked why she supports Haley: "One, she’s not Donald Trump," Massa said. "I think she can bring some stability to the Republican Party, which is needed.”
But when asked if she would vote for Biden in November: "Absolutely not,” Massa responded. “I would be open to a third-party candidate depending who that is.”
It’s unclear what will happen eight months from now. But right now, what is known is that Michigan is very much still up for grabs.
“I'm happy to vote for Donald Trump. I voted for him the last two elections as well. I like the direction the country was in better at that time,” Republican voter Lisa Henderson said. "The topics and issues at hand are more important to me than the person putting them in place.”
“I support a lot of Donald Trump's policies, but I'm concerned electing him will have more chaos," Massa said. "I don't know what I'm going to do.”
