closeicon
World

Jewish voters still not convinced by Mitt Romney

articlemain

Jewish voters are more likely to back President Obama than Mitt Romney at the general election in November.

A new survey commissioned for the American Jewish Committee has revealed that while the Democratic politician is less popular among respondents than he was in 2008, he would still be backed by nearly two - thirds.

His probable Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, stands to gain the votes of just 28 per cent of the Jewish community.

The research suggests that religious Jews – those who attend services at least once a week – are more in line with the Republicans, with only 52 per cent responding that they would back President Obama, compared to 67 per cent of those who did not attend synagogue services regularly.

The incumbent is also more popular among Jewish women than men, a trend that fits with national patterns of political allegiance.

Despite repeated efforts by both sides to boost their credentials as strong on foreign policy and Israel in particular; four out of five of those surveyed said the economy was the key factor in deciding their vote. Only 22 per cent placed the relationship between Israel and the US as a priority, although nearly 90 per cent expressed concern about the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

"Our survey confirms a politically active, and yet diverse, American Jewish community that has strong views on the pressing issues confronting the United States," said David Harris, the executive director of the AJC.

Share via

Want more from the JC?

To continue reading, we just need a few details...

Want more from
the JC?

To continue reading, we just
need a few details...

Get the best news and views from across the Jewish world Get subscriber-only offers from our partners Subscribe to get access to our e-paper and archive