Throughout the campaign, Obama weathered unprecedented malicious attacks meant to misrepresent his religion and ethnic background. Just a few short months ago, as his polling numbers among Jews hovered around 60%, it looked very unlikely that he would come anywhere close to matching John Kerry’s level of Jewish support (75%). But on Election Day, the Jewish electorate pledged its overwhelming support for the newly elected president as exit polls show 78% of Jews voted for Obama while only 21% voted for McCain (1).
As the campaign progressed, the Jewish electorate was able to sift through the smoke created by allegations that Obama wasn’t a “genuine born American” and that he was “a hidden Muslim” to see that Obama is a man who shares their values and is a product of a background they can readily relate to. Surprisingly, it was Obama’s diverse background and progressive views that sold the Jews, not his pro Jewish polices on Israel and healthcare. Ari Wallach, leader of jewsvote.org, described Obama’s background as “feeling so Jewish, it feels like an Ellis Island archetype. People felt more comfortable when I talked about where he came from, it resonates so deeply- surprisingly among older Jews” (2).
Obama’s wide margin of victory among the Jewish vote played a key role in many swing states. The Jewish vote may have actually provided the margin of victory for Obama in Florida. The National Jewish Democratic Council calculated that Obama’s margin of victory among Florida Jews, 238,214, was larger than his overall margin of victory in the state, 205,000. The NJDC also calculated that the Jewish vote provided large margins of victory for Obama in key states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia, and made up 73% of Obama’s margin of victory in North Carolina (1). These calculations provide an accurate estimation of the Jewish vote’s influence on the election, but may not be entirely accurate on a state level because they are based on the available national exit poll data- exit polls for Jewish support at the state level have not, and may not be released.
John McCain initially received strong Jewish support, but lost ground as the election took its course. At first, Jews were impressed by McCain’s moderate views and his willingness to reach across the isle to get things done. This view of McCain suffered greatly when he pandered to the Republican base and chose the ultra-conservative Sarah Palin as his running mate. Ultimately, McCain only received 21% of the Jewish vote because his smear campaign against Obama was unable to distract the Jewish electorate from recognizing Obama as a progressive candidate who more accurately matched their values.
The recent economic meltdown might have played as big a part as anything in bringing the Jews to Obama. Like the rest of the electorate, Jews saw the economy as one of the most, if not the most, important issues in the election. Since Obama and the Democrats held the decided advantage on this issue, his winning the Jewish vote may have stemmed from his rather than from any kind of recognition of shared values. It is possible, though unlikely, that the Jewish electorate has become more Republican and that the dire state of the economy only delayed this reality.
It is unclear whether Obama’s retention of the Jewish vote was candidate specific or a reflection of the economic crisis, or a combination of both, but what is very clear is that the Jews, as usual, overwhelmingly supported the Democratic candidate for president. The mythical Republican conversion remains just that, a myth. Obama, being the transcendent figure that he is, has a chance to solidify Jewish support for the next generation as he continues his historic path and attempts to redefine the Democratic Party. As long as the Democratic Party remains the more progressive party, Jews will continue to support them in large numbers.
For Further Reading:
1. http://blogs.jta.org/politics/
2. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/11/05/1000783/jews-looked-past-worries-to-embrace-obama
3. http://jta.org/news/article/2008/11/05/1000800/op-ed-why-jews-voted-for-obama
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