A Kentuckian was among the 29 uncommitted delegates who cast their votes for civilians and first responders killed in Gaza instead of Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday.
Violet Olds, who lives in Bullitt County, cast her vote for Muhammad Bhar, a Palestinian man with Down Syndrome who died after an IDF combat dog attacked him in his family’s apartment in Gaza, according to multiple media reports.
“Muhammad, like myself and my darling 12-year-old son, was autistic,” Olds said while casting her vote in Bhar’s name.
The delegates who cast an opposition vote Sunday, including Olds, did so in honor of Palestinian civilians and first responders killed in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Olds was the only Kentucky Democratic delegate who voted against immediately endorsing Harris last month. Harris has emerged as the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race.
Thousands of delegates across the country have been voting virtually over the past week for their nominee of choice ahead of the Wednesday deadline. While nearly all delegates have already come out endorsing Harris for the spot, some uncommitted delegates in particular have held out.
Uncommitted delegates represent the people in a primary who decided not to select any of the options before them and instead choose “uncommitted.” This election’s uncommitted movement was in part motivated by people protesting Biden’s support of Israel’s war in Gaza.
In a previous interview with Kentucky Public Radio, Olds said she was unable to endorse Harris because she wanted to honor the people who voted “uncommitted.”
“I want to make sure that the voice of the people who I represent is being heard. And the voices of Palestinian Americans who are at front and center of the ‘uncommitted’ movement are being heard as well,” Olds said.
Kentucky is sending eight uncommitted delegates to the Democratic National Convention this year out of 59 total including automatic delegates. Olds is the only one from the state who has openly refused to endorse Harris.
However, Kentucky has seen a relatively high “uncommitted” vote in previous presidential election cycles, likely due to Kentuckians who largely identify as conservative but haven’t changed their voter registration.
It’s unclear how influential the Israel-Gaza war was in the high percentage of uncommitted votes in Kentucky. In the 2020 presidential primaries, 10.8% of Democratic voters in Kentucky voted uncommitted compared with 18% this year.
Delegates from Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington also cast their vote for people killed in Gaza over the vice president. The group called for a nominee who “will support an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel's war and occupation against Palestinians.”
After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July, Harris said she sees and hears “everyone who has been calling for a cease-fire” and vowed not to be silent on suffering in Gaza.
“The war in Gaza is not a binary issue,” Harris said. “But too often, the conversation is binary when the reality is anything but.”
Many advocates are also watching closely for Harris’s running mate selection. One of the frontrunners Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is an outspoken supporter of Israel and has heavily criticized pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who has also been considered as a potential running mate, dodged a question from Kentucky Public Radio about his thoughts on the war late last month, saying he didn’t want to “litigate foreign policy through the press.”
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
