Philadelphia Jewish Voice - Jewish Vote

Florida Jews Say "Feh" To Republican Primary Candidates

Publisher — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:00:00 GMT

— David Streeter

Editorial Note: Florida is one of the most Jewish states thanks in part to the many Jewish retirement communities there. 3.4% of Floridians are Jewish according to the 2011 survey. Historically, Jews are very politically engaged and turnout to vote at higher rates than gentiles. For example, in 2008, Jews represented 4% of the vote in the general election.

Nate Silver wrote in The New York Times' 538 blog last night that there is little evidence supporting claims that Jewish voters in FL are switching their support to the Republican Party.

There has been some speculation that Democrats could struggle to hold the Jewish vote in 2012....
But there is no sign tonight of Jewish voters switching their registration over to the Republican side in Florida. According to early exit polls, just 1% of voters in tonight's Republican primary identified as Jewish. That's down from 3% in the Florida Republican primary in 2008, which also might mean that Jewish Republican voters in the state are not terribly enthusiastic about this group of candidates.

The Huffington Post's Sam Stein wrote:

For all the campaign attention paid this past week to Israeli politics and-towards the end-Mitt Romney's handling of kosher meal budgeting in Massachusetts, few if any Jews appeared to vote in the Florida GOP primary.
According to Fox News exit poll, just 1% of the state's primary voters identified as Jewish. 31% said they were Catholic and 59% said they were protestant or 'other Christian.' 4% said 'something else.'

The Jewish Journal's Shmuel Rosner wrote:

A week ago I wrote that the most interesting question about the Florida Jewish vote is that
'If the percentage of Republican Jews is higher this year than in 2008; if more than 4% to 5% of the Republican Florida voters are Jewish.'
The answer to this question is now clear: a resounding no. According to exit polls only 1% of Republican voters were Jewish - that's not more but rather less Jewish voters than the number of 2008.
... I don't know how Tuesday's results could be interpreted in ways favorable to Jewish Republicans. Clearly, the Jews of Florida aren't moved by the candidates, they aren't moved by the party, and they aren't moved by Obama's policies - not enough to switch party registration and vote for their candidate of choice.

More after the jump.
The Forward's Nathan Guttman also explained:

Exit polls could not provide data regarding the split in Jewish votes between Romney and Gingrich but it is largely believed that Romney had a stronger showing among Jewish Republicans. His supporters in Florida put together three events in recent weeks and all were well attended.
What exit polls do show, however, is that only 1% of Republican primary voters identified as being Jewish, down from 3% in 2008.
That means there was no shift of Jewish voters to the Republican side.

And Guttman's Forward colleague Josh Nathan-Kazis — who reported directly from Florida prior to the primary — surmised:

... [F]ewer Jewish voters in the primary could correlate to a lack of enthusiasm among Jews for the Republican field.

Florida Jews Say "Feh" To Republican Primary Candidates

Publisher — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:17:41 GMT

— David Streeter

Nate Silver wrote in The New York Times' 538 blog last night that there is little evidence supporting claims that Jewish voters in FL are switching their support to the Republican Party.

There has been some speculation that Democrats could struggle to hold the Jewish vote in 2012....
But there is no sign tonight of Jewish voters switching their registration over to the Republican side in Florida. According to early exit polls, just 1% of voters in tonight's Republican primary identified as Jewish. That's down from 3% in the Florida Republican primary in 2008, which also might mean that Jewish Republican voters in the state are not terribly enthusiastic about this group of candidates.

The Huffington Post's Sam Stein wrote:

For all the campaign attention paid this past week to Israeli politics and-towards the end-Mitt Romney's handling of kosher meal budgeting in Massachusetts, few if any Jews appeared to vote in the Florida GOP primary.
According to Fox News exit poll, just 1% of the state's primary voters identified as Jewish. 31% said they were Catholic and 59% said they were protestant or 'other Christian.' 4% said 'something else.'

The Jewish Journal's Shmuel Rosner wrote:

A week ago I wrote that the most interesting question about the Florida Jewish vote is that
'If the percentage of Republican Jews is higher this year than in 2008; if more than 4% to 5% of the Republican Florida voters are Jewish.'
The answer to this question is now clear: a resounding no. According to exit polls only 1% of Republican voters were Jewish - that's not more but rather less Jewish voters than the number of 2008.
... I don't know how Tuesday's results could be interpreted in ways favorable to Jewish Republicans. Clearly, the Jews of Florida aren't moved by the candidates, they aren't moved by the party, and they aren't moved by Obama's policies - not enough to switch party registration and vote for their candidate of choice.

More after the jump.
The Forward's Nathan Guttman also explained:

Exit polls could not provide data regarding the split in Jewish votes between Romney and Gingrich but it is largely believed that Romney had a stronger showing among Jewish Republicans. His supporters in Florida put together three events in recent weeks and all were well attended.
What exit polls do show, however, is that only 1% of Republican primary voters identified as being Jewish, down from 3% in 2008.
That means there was no shift of Jewish voters to the Republican side.

And Guttman's Forward colleague Josh Nathan-Kazis — who reported directly from Florida prior to the primary — surmised:

... [F]ewer Jewish voters in the primary could correlate to a lack of enthusiasm among Jews for the Republican field.

Oy, Obama! The Jewish Vote in 2012

jmellits — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:19:53 GMT

For generations, American Jews have voted for the Democratic Party. But the political website Politico has dedicated some of its digital ink recently on whether President Obama may have put the Jewish vote in jeopardy.

First, a brief history about the so-called "Jewish vote." Franklin Roosevelt is widely credited with swaying a Jewish majority to vote for the Democratic Party, because he had Jewish member of his Cabinet (Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau) and successfully fought the Nazis in World War II. Yet according to the Jewish Virtual Library, American Jews started to lean Democratic in the 1920s, going for John Davis and Al Smith in losing efforts. Roosevelt reinforced the trend, enjoying over 80% of the Jewish vote in all four of his terms, and the Democratic Party hasn't lost it since. Dwight Eisenhower was the last Republican to earn even 40% of Jewish voters, though Ronald Reagan reached 39%. In the last twenty years, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama have enjoyed over 75% Jewish support.
However, Obama has come under fire in recent months for his policy towards Israel, an issue close to many Jewish voters. Two months ago, Obama called for Israeli-Palestinian two-state negotiations based on 1967 borders, which some claimed undermined Israeli authority. Today, the White House said it would negotiate with the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that does not recognize Israel. Yet Obama has reaffirmed his support for Israel, funding Israeli anti-missile systems and declaring at the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC conference in May, "Even while we may at times disagree, as friends sometimes will, the bonds between the United States and Israel are unbreakable, and the commitment of the United States to the security of Israel is ironclad."

In response to this issue, Politico devoted some of its coverage on the issue of the Jewish vote:

In a three-page piece article, Ben Smith writes that "Obama may be losing the faith of Jewish Democrats". Smith says he spoke to dozens of Jewish leaders and donors, and when it comes to Obama and the Jewish community, he declares: "Based on the conversations with POLITICO, it's hard to resist the conclusion that some kind of tipping point has been reached."
Attached to the article is a video of Politico's Patrick Gavin on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." The approximately minute-and-a-half clip discusses Obama and the Jewish vote. Gavin reminds viewers that "the reality is that we do tend to hear this every four years," but there is "anxiety" in some Jewish circles. The same video appears in the article on the Muslim Brotherhood, further bringing the point home.
There is also an opinion piece by former Democratic Rep. Ron Klein of Florida, saying that "Jewish voters will stick by Obama". Klein asserts that Obama "is showing profound and mature leadership, and while ultimately, it is up to the parties themselves, we cannot give up."
The debate page, Arena, asked the question, "Is President Obama's Jewish support slipping?" Over two dozen contributors weighed in, including former Congressional members, CEOs and members of academia.

Meanwhile, Republicans are hoping to take advantage of the situation and reverse the Jewish Democratic trend in 2012. Presidential hopefuls have been particularly tough on Obama's policies towards Israel, an issue close to many Jewish voters. Among the outcry after Obama's borders plan, former governor Mitt Romney remarked that Obama "has thrown Israel under the bus," while Rep. Ron Paul added, "Unlike this President, I do not believe it is our place to dictate how Israel runs her affairs."
Recently, in a foreign policy speech, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty said, "It breaks my heart that President Obama treats Israel, our great friend, as a problem, rather than as an ally." Rep. Michele Bachmann also mentioned Israel during her candidacy announcement, saying, "We can't afford four more years of a foreign policy that leads from behind and doesn't stand up for our friends, like Israel, and [that] too often fails to stand up to our enemies."

It will be interesting to see how Politico and other media organizations report on this issue going forward and if they pay similar attention to other minority voters.

Survey of Jewish Voters

Publisher — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:45:17 GMT

According to the JTA, Prof. Steve Windmueller is conducting a Jewish Voter Survey to measure changing Jewish political interests.

The anonymous survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, will examine the political priorities of Jews and where they allocate their financial resources with regard to their support of political causes, both Jewish and mainstream. It will look at variables including income, geographical region, age, religious affiliation and education.
The study also seeks to discover how and where Jews acquire their political ideas and knowledge, and analyze how they define themselves with regard to specific political labels. The research also will focus on understanding the level and depth of engagement that Jews have with the State of Israel and other core social and policy issues.
"I am particularly interested in seeing if we are in the midst of a political sea-change within the American Jewish community," Windmueller said in a statement.

We strongly urge you to click on the following link and take the survey before the April 1 deadline.

Windmueller is the Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Service at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.