61% of Jews Side With Democrats But GOP Gains
Image by getty images
Twice as many Jewish-Americans identify as Democrats over Republicans, but the GOP has made strides, according to the latest Gallup polling.
The poll published this week showed 61 percent Jewish support for Democrats and 29 percent for Republicans — marked gains for the GOP since 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president and garnered significant Jewish support.
In that year, 71 percent of Jewish respondents leaned Democrat and 22 percent Republican.
Gallup said that the 7 percent hike corresponded with similar gains for the GOP in the general public, although to a slightly greater degree among Jews.
“As is the case with other Americans, Jewish Americans’ political leanings vary significantly by religiosity, gender and education,” Gallup said in describing the results. “Jewish men are more Republican than Jewish women, highly religious Jews are more Republican than less religious Jews, and Jews with lower levels of education are more likely to be Republicans than those with more formal education.”
The polling compiled responses from 4,116 Jewish-Americans during 2014 and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
