Image by File

Being an evangelical Christian candidate for president is twice as great a liability as being a Jewish candidate, according to a new poll.

The Pew Research Center survey on faith in the 2016 presidential campaign found that only a small percentage of Americans are less likely to vote for a presidential candidate because he is Jewish, but half of all respondents said they are less likely to vote for a candidate who doesn’t believe in God.

Eighty percent of respondents said a candidate being Jewish makes them no more or less likely to vote for him. Ten percent said they were less likely to vote for a Jew for president, and 8 percent said they were more likely.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, is the only Jewish candidate currently in the 2016 presidential race.

By contrast, twice as many respondents – 20 percent – said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who is an evangelical Christian. Some 22 percent said they would be more likely to vote for such a candidate.

Among the other traits the poll found as liabilities for presidential candidates: being Muslim (42 percent said they would be less likely to vote for such a candidate), having personal financial troubles (41 percent less likely), had an extramarital affair (37 percent less likely), has longtime Washington experience (31 percent less likely), is gay or lesbian (26 percent less likely).

While 51 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for an atheist for president, the number is down from 63 percent in 2007.

On the Jewish question, among Republicans and those leaning Republican, 10 percent said they were more likely to vote for a candidate who is Jewish, 7 percent said less likely, and 81 percent said it made no difference. Among Democrats and those leaning Democratic, 5 percent said they were more likely to vote for a Jewish candidate, 10 percent said they were less likely, and 84 percent said it made no difference.

The telephone poll of 2,009 American adults was conducted Jan. 7-14 and had a margin of error of plus/minus 2.5 percentage points.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount