IN PHOTOS: Early voters in Michigan cast ballots, candidates flock to the state

Voters in Michigan are showing up to the polls in large numbers, with more than 260,000 citizens casting votes at early voting sites over the weekend during the first two days of early voting in the key battleground state. Michigan, home to over seven million registered voters as of Oct. 29, has over 200,000 Arab Americans. In Dearborn, which has been described as the first Arab American majority city, nearly 55% of the city's 110,000 residents are of Middle Eastern or North African descent.

Both parties have put significant time into campaigning in the state this election, with Vice President Kamala Harris zigzagging across Michigan earlier this week, making stops in Ann Arbor and Warren. Harris' running mate, Tim Walz, is making campaign stops in the state on Friday, less than a week before election day, in Detroit, Flint and Traverse City. 

During a recent visit to Oakland County, Harris acknowledged some concerns in the Arab American community. “This year has been very difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon," she said, adding that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “can and must be a turning point.” 

Harris has voiced her support for Israel, saying the country has a right to defend itself and calling for the return of the remaining hostages. Like President Joe Biden, Harris has said she does not support an arms embargo on Israel. 

Former President Donald Trump — whose campaign appointed daughter Tiffany Trump's father-in-law, Massad Boulos, to lead Arab American outreach efforts — will head back to the state with his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, on Friday, making stops in Portage and Warren. 

Trump previously cast himself as a "big protector" of Israel, saying “anybody who’s Jewish and loves being Jewish and loves Israel is a fool if they vote for a Democrat.” While president, Trump pushed forward the Abraham Accords that normalized ties between Israel and Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. 

During the Democratic primaries in February, over 101,000 Michigan residents, or 13% of the voters, cast uncommitted votes, many in protest of Biden's handling of the Israel-Gaza war.