Vice President Kamala Harris extended an olive branch to Michigan’s significant Arab-American community Sunday night in a speech aimed at soothing its frustration over her administration’s handling of the war in Gaza.

Ms. Harris began her speech in East Lansing, Michigan, on Sunday by acknowledging the human toll the war between Israel and Hamas has taken in Gaza and pledged to do “everything in my power to end the war in Gaza” if elected on Tuesday.

“We are joined today by leaders of the Arab American community, which has deep and proud roots here in Michigan and I want to say this year has been difficult given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon,” she said at a campaign rally.

“It’s devastating, and as president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza to bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure, and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, security and self-determination,” she continued.

Michigan is the swing state with the largest concentrations of Arab and Muslim voters, a group that has overwhelmingly backed Democrats in recent presidential races. 

However, those same voters are now angry and frustrated by the Biden-Harris administration’s inability to secure a cease-fire in the Middle East or end the war in Gaza.

The race between Ms. Harris and former President Donald Trump remains dead even in the state. FiveThirtyEight has Ms. Harris leading by less than one percentage point and Real Clear Politics has her up by half a percentage point.

Muslim voters, along with young progressives who view Israel as the villain in the conflict, could create a problem for Ms. Harris in swing states, especially Michigan. 

Mr. Trump holds an edge over Ms. Harris with Arab voters nationwide, 45% to 43%, according to an Arab News/YouGov poll released last week. Those results are similar to a survey released earlier this month by the Arab American Institute, which found Mr. Trump with 42% support among Arab Americans and Ms. Harris with 41% support.

President Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes in 2020, but the state has more than 242,000 Muslim voters, according to the U.S. Religion Census. Major slippage among Arabs and Muslims could make a repeat victory for Democrats in Michigan a challenge this year. 

In her first speech after replacing Mr. Biden atop the Democratic ticket, Ms. Harris was heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters. She told the demonstrators, “if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

That argument has done little to appease Muslim voters. 

A coalition of Muslim and Arab American leaders blasted Ms. Harris as a “pro-genocide candidate” and “a cease-fire teaser.”

“The vice president engages in ‘cease-fire teasing’ — a common practice that began with [President Biden] — by claiming that a cease-fire is on the horizon while children, women, and men are in flames, burning before our eyes,” said Hassan Abdel Salam, a spokesperson for the coalition which operates as Abandon Harris.