Pew Study Finds that 70 Percent of American Jews Plan to Vote for Joe Biden

Wearing a face mask to reduce the risk of contracting the coronavirus, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden talks to reporters at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Oct. 12. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, via JTA)

The Jewish vote in the upcoming presidential election should be quite similar to the way it has been split since 2012, according to a new study by the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center.

The survey, conducted earlier this month and published on Oct. 13, found that 70 percent of American Jewry plans to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden, while 27 percent plan to vote for President Donald Trump.

If those numbers bear out, they will be nearly identical to the Jewish result in 2016, when Pew found that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won 71 percent of the Jewish vote compared to Trump’s 25 percent. In 2012, the numbers were slightly higher for the Republican candidate: former President Barack Obama won 69 percent of the Jewish vote while GOP nominee Mitt Romney won 30 percent

The margin of error for Jewish respondents on the Pew survey is quite large, at 9.6 percent, which means that the result is statistically similar to the Jewish vote in previous presidential elections.

The poll is a blow to Jewish Republican hopes that Trump’s record in office — including recognizing Israeli territorial claims, brokering peace between Israel and two Arab states, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and pulling out of the Iran nuclear agreement — could shift the vote in his favor.

The Pew poll also found that 35 percent of Jewish Americans approve of the job Trump has done in office, similar to his 38 percent approval rating among Americans overall.

Overall, Pew found that 52 percent of Americans overall prefer Biden while 42 percent prefer Trump. Large majorities of Jews, Hispanic Catholics, Black Protestants and religiously unaffiliated voters support Biden. Most white Christians, including the vast majority of white evangelicals, support Trump.

Ben Sales writes for the JTA global Jewish news source.

You May Also Like
Jewish Gen-Zer Loses Election But Still Viewed as Rising Star
Del. Joe Vogel

In the Democratic primary for the 6th District congressional seat, Joe Vogel, 27, finished second behind April McClain Delaney.

Third Space at Shaarei Tfiloh to Hold Ribbon-Cutting Launch Ceremony on June 4th
Third Space

The repurposed historic synagogue will serve as a center of Jewish learning and community engagement.

In Maryland Democratic Senate Primary, Alsobrooks Beats Trone
Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks

The Prince George's County Executive will face her GOP rival, former Gov. Larry Hogan, in November..

Entrepreneur Case Study: Nemphos Braue and Bark Social
Bark Social

Even before he had fully flushed out the business model for his dog-friendly bar Bark Social, Luke Silverman turned to Nemphos Braue LLC for guidance.