This interview is part of Moment’s Jewish Political Voices Project. To learn more about the project, click here. To see our other participants, click here. To see all posts from Josh, click here.
Age: 44
Occupation: Environmental attorney, city councilmember
Location: Des Moines, IA
Party Registration: Democratic
Jewish Denomination: Reform
Political Leaning: Pragmatic Progressive
Current 2024 Vote: Joe Biden
2020 Vote: Joe Biden
Family: Married; son, 10-years-old, daughter, 8-years-old
News Sources: The New York Times, Washington Post, Des Moines Register, NPR, Axios
How have the October 7 terror attacks affected your politics?
I don’t know that my vote choice has changed. It’s certainly something to be aware of and to keep in mind. Sometimes folks surprise you in both directions on that issue. But yeah, I think President Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel and certainly has during the response to the October 7 attacks, so that hasn’t changed my support for the president.
Are you worried about the future of American democracy?
If the local election officials do their job, we will have an accurate reading of the votes and who won the election. I guess there’s some concern about the posturing and folks trying to manipulate things after the fact. I mean, if you look back four years ago, we knew who won. I think President Trump knew who won, but he worked to manipulate that and to deny it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took a similar tack today, but I think we’ll know who won the election.