Thursday, April 23, 2015

Obama and the Jews

Pundits have puzzled about Jews' fierce allegiance to the Democratic Party over the last several election cycles, particularly since the Party has shown less practical support for Israel. Now Gallup documents declining support for Democrats among this demographic group.

Jews' approval of President Obama has declined, from 77% when he took office to 54% today. The gap in Obama approval between Jews and all Americans has also declined, from 14% then to 8% today. Further segmenting the sample, Gallup finds:
Jews are the least religious of any major U.S. religious group. The 16% of Jews who report weekly religious service attendance is half the national average of 33% for the same period. The small segment of Jews who attend services weekly are distinctly less positive about Obama than the others, giving Obama a 34% approval rating.
Although Gallup doesn't flag the finding, their data shows Jewish men are evenly split between 48% who approve and 48% who disapprove of Obama.

Will lack of enthusiasm for Obama translate into increased voting for the Republican nominee in 2016? The poll provides no information about this, I think it unlikely. It might result in a lower level of Jewish voter turnout or voting for minor party candidates as a form of protest.