Obama’s Edge With Jewish-Americans Drops 10 Points Since 2008

Obama’s Edge With Jewish-Americans Drops 10 Points Since 2008:

(Photo: AP)

While President Barack Obama still enjoys a majority of support from Jewish-Americans, his popularity with the demographic has seen a 10-point decline since 2008. According to a new poll from Gallup only 64 percent of Jewish-Americans support President Obama, joining the likes of Michael Dukakis, Walter Mondale and Jimmy Carter in 1980, as the only Democrats running for president since 1976 who have failed to reach 70 precent. Dukakis, Mondale and Carter in 1980 all lost in the general election to their Republican opponents.
The only silver lining the president may find from the drop is that he is still preferred by twice as many Jewish voters as Mitt Romney. The Republican presidential candidate has only been able to secure 29 percent of support from Jewish-Americans. The Republican Jewish Coalition still notes that this percentage is the highest level of Jewish support for a Republican presidential candidate in 24 years. The gap between Romney and Obama among Jewish-Americans is also not as great as the lead the Republican has with Mormon-Americans, 84 percent to the president’s 13. According to Gallup roughly 2 percent of Americans identify their religious faith as Mormon, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The same percent as those who identify as Jewish. The two religious groups represent the next-largest religious faiths in the United States after Protestants (including those who identify simply as Christian) and Catholics.
The Hill reports that Romney has made a major push to win over Jewish voters this cycle, criticizing the president’s stance on Israel and playing up his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.