AJC Poll Shows Obama At 65 Percent Of Jewish Vote

In results that are not terriby surprising, American Jews surveyed by the American Jewish Committee said they favored President Barack Obama over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by a margin of 65 percent to 24 percent. Ten percent of voters are still undecided, but when asked how they were leaning the undecided voters broke down […]

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In results that are not terriby surprising, American Jews surveyed by the American Jewish Committee said they favored President Barack Obama over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by a margin of 65 percent to 24 percent.

Ten percent of voters are still undecided, but when asked how they were leaning the undecided voters broke down 63 percent for Obama, the Democrat and 27 percent for Romney, the Republican nominee.

The online poll, taken Sept. 6 through 17, suggests little impact on the Jewish vote by the heated campaign between the two candidates, in which support of Israel has been a significant point of contention. In a March poll by the same organization, 61 percent chose Obama and 28 percent preferred Romney.

The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus five percent.

Obama got his highest approval rating from Jews, 76 percent, on his handling of national security, while 63 percent approve of the way he is handling the economy.

The vast majority, 91 percent, expressed concern about iran's nuclear ambitions while 64 percent said they were skeptical that diplomacy and sanctions can offset that program. Sixty-four percent support U.S. military action against Iran should peaceful efforts fail.

Exit polls suggest that 2008 election, American Jews voted for Obama over Senator John McCain by a margin of 78 to 22 percent.

Romney's support is strongest among Orthodox voters, who tend to be more politically conservative, at 54 percent for Romney to 40 percent for Obama, while Conservative Jews leaned 64- 23 percent for Obama.

The gap was widest among Reform Jews at 68 to 23 percent for Obama while those who identified themselves as “just Jewish” leaned 68-19 percent for Obama.

Obama leads in allage groups, with the highest suport in the 60-plus set at 68-22, while Jews between 18 and 29 backed Obama by 65 percent to 26 percent for Romney. Jewish women prefer the incumbent by a margin of 69 to 19 percent.

The poll of 1,040 American Jews was conducted on the KnowledgePanel probability-based online panel.

The majority of respondents, 55 percent, are Democrats while 16 percent identified as Republicans and 27 percent said they belong to no party.

"This survey, the second of three on the Jewish political outlook in the build-up to November 6, offers vital insights into the thinking of registered Jewish voters,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “The first survey was on the Jewish vote in the battleground state of Florida, and the final survey focuses on another key state, Ohio.”

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