Over Three-quarters of US Jews Voted for Biden in Election - Poll

By Staff, Haaretz

A poll of American Jewish voters released by the J Street organization found that over three-quarters of them cast their ballot for Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday, handing Republicans their worst performance with the community since 2008.

American Jews traditionally lean Democrat in elections at about 70 percent, but these figures suggest Jewish voters backed Biden over US President Donald Trump by 77 to 21 percent – a 56-percentage point margin that significantly surpassed Hillary Clinton’s +45-point advantage in 2016.

The Election Night poll was conducted by GBAO Strategies for J Street between October 30 and November 3, and included interviews with 800 self-identified Jewish voters who cast their ballots on Election Day or prior to the day itself.

According to the data, Jewish voters also supported Democratic candidates over GOP candidates in congressional races by 78 percent to 21 percent.

When asked their views on the overall direction the United States is headed, 85 percent of respondents said it was on the wrong track and only 15 percent believed the country is going in the right direction.

Seventy-seven percent of respondents also said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of his job, while 23 percent approved.

More than half of the people surveyed – 54 percent – said the coronavirus pandemic was their top issue in this year’s presidential race; 26 percent mentioned climate change; and 25 percent cited health care as their priority.

Other issues included the economy, the Supreme Court, police reform, and racial justice and national security.

Only 5 percent of Jewish voters participating in the survey mentioned ‘Israel’ as the issue most important to them.