Two weeks have passed since election day, and there’s nothing anyone wants more than to put this whole thing behind us. But before we do so, we need to settle the least important question of these elections, yet the one most likely to come up during your (virtual) Thanksgiving, Passover or whatever family dinner table: How did the Jews vote?
A poll commissioned by the liberal, pro-Israel group J Street, conducted by the firm GBAO between October 12 and 15, found that 73 percent of Florida’s Jewish likely voters support former Vice President Joe Biden. With a margin of error of plus/minus 4 percent, the survey polled 600 of the state’s estimated 500,000 eligible Jewish voters.
One of Donald Trump’s favorite lines when addressing Jewish American or Israeli listeners, is that if he ran for office in Israel, he’d get “98 percent” of the votes.
He’s not exaggerating by much.
Just as the remarkable life she lived, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, sparked a mix of awe, appreciation and political controversy. And the coming days will provide much of the same: a celebration of the life of a trailblazing legal giant who served for many as the nation’s moral compass, and at the same time, a fierce partisan battle over the appropriate timing of choosing Bader Ginsburg’s successor.
Nearly four years into Donald J. Trump’s presidency, Jared Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, remain the prince and princess of the administration and arguably the nation’s “First Jews.”
Remember when Donald Trump first ran for office in 2016 and promised that “we’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning”? Well, it’s a matter of anyone’s political persuasion to judge just how much America has been winning in the past four years and whether there really are people out there who are sick and tired of winning.
But to paraphrase Trump’s promise, could people be sick and tired of too much Middle East peace?
As part of our Jewish Political Voices Project, Moment has been following 30 voters—3 from each of 10 battleground states—over the last 12 months as the political climate continued to shift and the pool of Democratic presidential candidates narrowed. As one of their final check-ins before casting their ballots, our voters shared their thoughts on the Trump and Biden campaigns, voting by mail and more.
Donald Trump has been actively drawing God into his campaign for the past few weeks. It started with the claim earlier this month that his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, is “against God,” has “no religion” and will “hurt the Bible, hurt God.”
“With so much riding on Florida’s 29 electoral votes in the presidential election, and the crucial role the state’s 450,000 Jewish voters may play in the outcome, the national Biden campaign is being cautious to the point of being cagey about what their strategy will be.”
“In this age of pandemics and polarization, it may be hard to envision. But it’s not a mystery. Someone who prizes decency and embodies dignity. Someone who exercises empathy and exhibits patience and understanding. Someone who lives, breathes and acts on the basic beliefs which are unique to Jewish tradition and universal in application—to pursue justice, welcome the stranger, open your hand and your heart to the needy and love your neighbor.”
Since the pandemic began, DeSantis has aped Trump’s responses–and non-responses–to the crisis. He has refused to take significant state action to stem the now-record rising tide of COVID-19. This has included intransigent resistance to mandating the use of masks, closing the beaches and ordering a stay-at-home lockdown. Echoing Trump, he deferred to local authorities to take such action.
For Donald Trump, the road to reelection—his only viable path, experts say—runs through Florida, with its crucial 29 electoral votes. That’s why, between Labor Day and Election Day, the Republican campaign plans to spend $32 million of the $95 million TV campaign budget in Florida. As the GOP ad buy acknowledges, without the Sunshine State, Trump is a one-term president.
