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Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2008 > September > 25 > Entry
Republicans Building Jewish Support
Barack Obama is enjoying far less support from Jewish voters than previous Democratic candidates, according to a poll released Thursday by the American Jewish Committee.
The poll shows the Illinois senator leading 57 to 30 percent among Jewish voters, with 13 percent still undecided. If those numbers remain steady through election day, Obama will have won fewer Jewish votes than any Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1980.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., won 78 percent of the Jewish vote in the 2004 presidential election, according National Election Pool exit polls.
The AJC poll shows that Jews are still a reliably Democratic voting base: On issues like support for Israel and energy independence, Jewish voters prefer Democrats by a margin of at least 20 percentage points.
However, Republicans have sought to make inroads in the Jewish community by portraying Obama as softer on terrorism and more likely to make concessions to Iran. Ads produced by the Republican Jewish Coalition say his foreign policy is “naive and dangerous.”
It remains to be seen if John McCain, who has been touting his foreign policy experience, will be able to capitalize on uncertainty over Obama this November.
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