The first from Vice President Kamala Harris important campaign decision — selecting Minnesota Governor Tim Walz about Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro like her running mate — had a major backfire with Jewish voters, according to an exit poll obtained exclusively by The Post.
The Harris-Walz ticket won Jewish voters in Pennsylvania by seven percentage points, 48%-41%, over the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, according to the survey conducted by the Honan Strategy Group for the Teach Coalition, a subsidiary of the Jewish Orthodox Union.
However, 53% of Jewish voters said they would have pulled the lever for the veep if Shapiro were her No. 2, while support for Trump-Vance would have dropped to 38%.
The results suggest Harris might have come closer or even won in Pennsylvania — which she lost to Trump by 2.1% — or in other swing states if she had chosen the popular Shapiro, who Jewish community leaders say was the subject of an ‘ugly, anti-Semitic campaign’ at the time that led to him being passed over for the VP slot.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was an active surrogate for Kamala Harris on the campaign trail. Daniella Heminghaus / USA TODAY NETWORK
As it was, defeated Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania was ahead of Harris-Walz among Jewish voters, according to the survey, with 50% saying they supported the three-term incumbent president and 40% backing Republican Sen.-elect David McCormick.
Harris also failed to break the 50% of Jewish voters in New York’s 1st and 4th Congressional Districts on Long Island, as well as in the 17th, 18th, 19th and 22nd districts in the Hudson Valley and in northern state – a stunning turnaround in what was considered a reliable. Democratic constituency.
The Harris-Walz ticket won Jewish voters in Pennsylvania by seven percentage points, 48%-41%, over the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, according to the survey conducted by the Honan Strategy Group for the Teach Coalition, a subsidiary of the Jewish Orthodox Union. REUTERS
In the six districts, both Trump and Republican House candidates received 41% of the Jewish vote, while Harris-Walz received 48% — more than half the gap that emerged in a summer poll that saw Harris trump Trump 56%-37 % led among the Jews. in the swing neighborhoods.
However, if Shapiro had been on the ticket, Harris would have defeated Trump by 12 — 51%-39% — in the six battleground states, the poll found.
“In a post-October 7 world, the voice of the Jewish community is more up for grabs than ever,” said Maury Litwack, founder and CEO of the Teach Coalition.
“It’s definitely an erosion of Jewish voters for the Democratic Party,” he added. “What drives this is the Jewish community’s feelings about anti-Semitism.
Shapiro campaigns with Harris on election night in Reading, Pennsylvania. AP
“The far left has made anti-Israel activity a cornerstone. They have the power in the Democratic Party,” Litwack explains. “This is a wake-up call for the Democratic Party in New York.”
The Jewish vote was unevenly distributed in the Empire State.
The lower Hudson Valley’s 17th Congressional District is home to 55% of Jews said they voted to re-elect freshman Republican Rep. Mike Lawlerwhile only 31% went for Democrat Mondaire Jones.
In the neighboring 18th District, however, 57% of Jewish voters supported incumbent Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan, while only 34% went for Republican challenger Alison Esposito.
About half of Jewish voters in New York and 43% of Jewish voters in Pennsylvania said the rise of anti-Semitism had a “significant impact” on their voting behavior, while more than 80% in both states said it was important to them was to remain politically active and involved in the elections. local, municipal and state races over the next two years.
The Honan Group/Teach Coalition survey conducted 681 exit poll interviews on Election Day. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.75 percentage points.
Leave a Reply