74 Percent of Jewish Voters View Trump, MAGA as ‘Threat to Jews in America,’ Poll Finds

WASHINGTON—Three out of four Jewish Americans voted for Democrats in the U.S. midterm elections, significantly motivated by rising antisemitism and extremism fostered by former president Donald Trump’s influence on the Republican Party.

Jews backed Democrats over Republicans by a 74-25 margin, according to a GBAO Election Night poll commissioned by J Street, with 55 percent of voters citing “the state of democracy” as their top issue while 40 percent cited abortion.

These numbers reflect the findings of the Jewish Electorate Institute poll from earlier this year that cited these as the top two issues for Jewish voters.

To this end, Jewish voters continue to overwhelmingly support U.S. President Joe Biden despite national polarization and low approval ratings. 70 percent of Jews approve of Biden, compared to the 42-percent approval among the general population.

Open gallery view Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, the state's attorney general, attends an election night event on Tuesday. Credit: Matt Slocum /AP

Eight-five percent of voters, meanwhile, said they were very concerned about antisemitism, with 76 who believed Trump and his GOP allies are responsible for its spike. Further, 74 percent believe Trump and the MAGA movement are a “threat to Jews in America.”

Even more unpopular than Trump among Jewish voters, however, is Sen. Mitch McConnell, who holds an 85 percent unfavorable rating.

These concerns over democracy and antisemitism were captured in voters’ sentiments toward the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as well. Seventy-two percent of Jewish voters said they disapproved of AIPAC’s decision to endorse more than 100 Republicans who refused to certify the 2020 presidential election results.

“The gold standard has always been the network exit polls – that has always been the accepted number, and RJC stands by the Fox News exit polling, which shows a consistent trend of Jewish voters moving towards the GOP,” Republican Jewish Coalition National Political Director Sam Markstein said, referring to a poll that found a 65-33 Democrat-Republican split.

“J Street doesn’t like the poll, so they shopped around and paid for a poll they do like. The trends are absolutely clear: Jewish voters are moving towards the GOP – 24 percent in 2016, 30 percent in 2020, 33 percent in 2022 – and no J Street paid-for poll will change those facts,” Markstein added.

“The future of democracy and reproductive rights were on the ballot in these elections, and three out of every four Jewish voters overwhelmingly supported Democrats because of those two key issues," Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer said.

She noted her organization "led an unprecedented campaign to ensure that Democrats won this election with the strong support of Jewish voters, and that’s exactly what occurred in the midterms. Three-quarters of Jewish voters supported Democrats and rejected extremist Republicans, and it made a decisive difference in the outcome of this close election.”

Seventy-three percent of Jewish voters want the U.S. to play an active role in helping Israelis and Palestinians resolve the conflict, even if it means pressuring both sides. Only 58 percent, however, support the U.S. exerting pressure on Israel alone.

Eighty-nine percent of Jews believe it is possible to be “pro-Israel” and critical of Israeli policy. This is captured by Prime Minister-in-waiting Benjamin Netanyahu’s 59 percent unfavorability rating.

Open gallery view Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. in 2015. Credit: Andrew Harnik/AP

This marks a 56-point swing from his peak favorability among U.S. Jewish voters in 2014, which dropped following his campaign against the Iran nuclear deal in 2015 and even further after his embrace of Trump.

The majority of Jewish voters further support a comprehensive peace agreement, preferably in the form of a two-state solution. 69 percent of Jewish voters support a comprehensive deal based on parameters under previous negotiations, and 61 percent of voters back a Jewish State of Israel alongside an Arab State of Palestine. Only 24 percent, meanwhile, back annexation of the West Bank and only 15 percent support a one-state solution.

Jewish voters strongly oppose Israeli settlement construction, with only 24 percent believing Israel should build where it wants. 39 percent, meanwhile, believe Israel should confine settlement construction to already developed areas and 37 percent believe Israel should suspend all settlement construction.

The majority of Jewish voters support restricting U.S. military aid to Israel from fueling the occupation. 68 percent of Jewish voters support the $3.8 billion in security assistance at the same level, while restricting it so it cannot be used to expand the occupation.

The survey was conducted November 1-8, 2022 and included interviews with 800 self-identified Jewish voters who cast their ballots on Election Day or prior to Election Day. The survey is subject to a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.