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RJC Got Out the Jewish Vote for Trump
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RJC CEO Matt Brooks wrote an op-ed that was published by the Washington Times, analyzing how the RJC's efforts helped bring out Jewish voters for President Donald Trump.
He wrote:
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Two years ago, the Republican Jewish Coalition leadership understood that in the 2024 presidential election, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Georgia would be the top battleground states with electorally significant Jewish voting populations.
We knew that Jewish voters, with one of the highest turnout rates among demographic groups, could tip the balance to victory in those states. The coalition was determined to build the largest voter outreach program undertaken in the Jewish community to get out the Jewish vote for former President Donald Trump in those key states. We delivered on that goal.
…According to the AP/Fox News exit poll, Mr. Trump won 38% of the Jewish vote in Arizona and 42% of the Jewish vote in Nevada — up from 30% and 22%, respectively, in 2020. In Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump won a staggering 41% of the Jewish vote, according to the Honan Group exit poll — up from 26% in 2020.
These numbers reflect the effective ground operation and paid media campaign that the coalition implemented in those states, as well as the sophisticated data modeling and Jewish voter microtargeting that were the foundation of everything we did.
…The election results in the battleground states are corroborated by the results in other states with large Jewish populations, where Mr. Trump also did well. In deep-red Florida, he took 44% of the Jewish vote, and in deep-blue New York, he took 46% of the Jewish vote.
…Let there be no doubt: The coalition delivered. The Jewish vote showed up in 2024 for President-elect Donald Trump.
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The Jewish Vote in 2024 Was Even Higher Than We Thought
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The respected firm WPAI Intelligence provided the Republican Jewish Coalition with a comprehensive analysis of the Jewish vote in the 2024 election. Drawing from the most reliable exit polling, city and county data, and precinct data, they showed the strong movement of Jewish voters to the Republican Party. They reported:
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Overall, the results are clear. From the highest quality polling to the most granular of neighborhood analysis, it is apparent that Trump gained in overall Jewish support, even against a headwind of a realignment that traded heavily-Jewish socioeconomic and educational demographics for far less Jewish ones. His overall support among Jews was likely the highest in 36 years.
Furthermore, his increase in support was broad and diverse, both geographically and ethnically, but came especially among those who live the most Jewish lives and reside in the most Jewish communities.
The trend is apparent from Trump's near-unanimous support among Hasidic and Yeshivish Jews; to his rapid consolidation of the Modern Orthodox vote; to incremental gains even in more liberal Jewish areas such as Oak Park and Upper Manhattan. And so too is it diverse ethnically and geographically, occurring coast to coast and overrepresenting Persian and ex-Soviet Jewish communities.
Though Jews still often live in blue areas, their neighborhoods and communities are increasingly a major share of the red islands in blue seas.
In this election, we have seen how Jewish values vote, and increasingly, they vote red.
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For the data and charts that back up their conclusions, see the report on our website.
Armin Rosen at Tablet Magazine has an excellent analysis of the Jewish vote in 2024 and the polls that reported it. He writes:
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Jews swinging toward Trump in significant numbers would mark a potential turning point in the relationship between Jewish Americans and both major political parties. Based on Tablet's own comparison of precinct-level numbers from the 2020 and 2024 election, Donald Trump did improve his performance in a range of Jewish neighborhoods across America. From the yeshivas of Lakewood, New Jersey, to the bagel shops of New York's Upper West Side; from Persian Los Angeles to Venezuelan Miami; from the Detroit suburbs to the Chabadnik shchuna in Brooklyn's Crown Heights, Jewish areas voted in higher percentages for the Republican candidate than they did in 2020, which in turn was better for Republicans than 2016. The oft-cited exit poll pushed by CNN, NBC and others asserting that the Jewish vote went 79% to [Kamala] Harris did not include New York, New Jersey and California, which have some of the largest Jewish populations in the country. Claims that the numbers are holding steady for Democrats become more difficult to sustain after a close look at vote totals in the places where Jews actually live.
…The roughly 15-point gap in Jewish support for Trump reported by the Teach Coalition and JDCA-promoted surveys reflects a significant philosophical difference between the pollsters, who disagree about which kinds of voters are in fact representative of the American Jewish community. As Honan explained, "We asked people if they were Jewish or not and if not we said thanks very much, we're going to move on." In contrast, Gerstein's team counted people who said they were Jewish but did not consider Judaism to be their religion… The decision to count Jews who do not identify their religion as Judaism had a profound effect on the findings of the J Street poll.
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Karol Markowicz is a columnist at the New York Post and Fox News and a former New Yorker who emigrated to Florida. She looks at the Jewish voting data and also concludes that the Jewish vote for President Trump was far higher than Democrats want to acknowledge:
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I now think that the actual Jewish vote total was far higher. Looking at the vote totals in precincts with a high percentage of Jewish voters, taking into account Trump's underpolling in general, and the state exit polls, I put the number into the mid-40s. It's a political earthquake for Democrats and it makes sense that they would want to minimize any fallout from that reality.
There are a lot of people hoping Jews have not moved. Liberal Jewish outlets continue to run the absurd 21% number as gospel because they need it to be true. They can not allow the Jewish electorate to shift this sharply away from them. For liberals who have long thought demographics=destiny, the fact that Orthodox Jews are voting in such astronomical numbers for Republicans, while having a high number of babies, means that Jewish vote being majority Republican is around the corner.
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L-R: DMFI President Mark Mellman and RJC CEO Matt Brooks
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Matt Brooks and Mark Mellman Discuss the Jewish Vote: Podcast
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Rabbi Ammi Hirsch of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York hosts a podcast that unpacks current events through the lens of Jewish wisdom. This week, Rabbi Hirsch moderated a lively conversation between RJC CEO Matt Brooks and Democratic Majority for Israel President Mark Mellman on the results of the 2024 election.
Listen to the discussion here. Listen to more of In These Times with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch here or at your podcast platform of choice.
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RJC in the News
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JNS: Republican Jewish Coalition analysis: Trump swing among ‘most Jewish’ voters
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The Republican Jewish Coalition published a report on Thursday examining where Jewish voters in the Nov. 5 election swung for President-elect Donald Trump that suggests his strongest gains were among "those who live the most Jewish lives and reside in the most Jewish communities."
The analysis from WPA Intelligence, a conservative political consultancy and analytics firm, looked at available exit polling, city and county data and precinct data. It concluded that there is a growing political gap between "disengaged and secular people of Jewish ancestry," who largely voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, and "those actively engaged with the Jewish religion" who broke for Trump.
...The RJC/WPAI report is the latest set of data points in the dispute between Republican and Democratic Jewish groups over whether Trump won over a large share of Jewish voters and where he might have done so.
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NY Times: Democrats face a series of tests over support for Israel
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Democrats whose support for Israel has been strained by the wars in Gaza and Lebanon appear headed for a series of tests in the coming weeks over continuing to back Israel's right-wing government and the attendant debate over antisemitism and the anti-Israel left.
… How these three moments play out could go a long way toward determining whether support for Israel remains a cornerstone of bipartisan American foreign policy or slides fully into a position that breaks largely along party lines.
… "Unfortunately, not all Jews are focused on the US-Israel relationship," allowed Norm Coleman, a former Minnesota senator and a prominent Jewish Republican. "But for voters who understand the importance of US-Israel relations this is a glorious time, because Donald Trump is heading back to the White House."
… "You can't avoid the fact that there is one pro-Israel party, and that's the Republican Party," said Matt Brooks, the longtime chief executive of the Republican Jewish Coalition. "If that's a partisan wedge, so be it."
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AP: Some Arab Americans who voted for Trump are concerned about his picks for key positions
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Just a week after winning several of the nation's largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Donald Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters…
…The Republican Jewish Coalition, which organized for Trump in Michigan, has been outspoken in its support for many of Trump's Cabinet picks. Sam Markstein, the group's political director, described the proposed lineup as a "pro-Israel dream team," adding that "folks are giddy about the picks." He praised Trump's pro-Israel record as "second to nobody."
"The days of this mealymouthed, trying to have support in both camps of this issue are over," Markstein said. "The way to secure the region is peace through strength, and that means no daylight between Israel and the United States."
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JBS: Defending Israel – David Harris with Sam Markstein
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Former American Jewish Committee chairman David Harris talked with RJC Political Director Sam Markstein about the results of the 2024 election.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks on the Senate floor on Oct. 25, 2023. Source: C-SPAN.
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18 Dem. Senators Vote to Block Israel Arms Shipments
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This week, anti-Israel Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) forced a Senate floor vote on three joint resolutions of disapproval that would have stopped the shipment $20 billion in pending arms sales to Israel that were already authorized by Congress.
The resolutions had the support of "progressive" Jewish groups, but last night, the Senate rejected those resolutions and prevented Senator Sanders' arms embargo against Israel.
Senate Republicans voted unanimously against these measures, and we thank them for their unwavering support of Israel in her time of need.
However 18 Democratic Senators joined voted for the arms embargo against Israel, and all of them have been endorsed by the anti-Israel group J Street and/ or the Jewish Democratic Council of America. They are:
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Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
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Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
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Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)
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Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
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Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
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Senator Peter Welch (D-VT)
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Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA)
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Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA)
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Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
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Senator Tina Smith (D-MN)
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Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
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Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
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Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
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Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI)
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Senator Ed Markey (D-MA)
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Senator Angus King (I-ME)
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Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)
In a public statement on the vote, RJC CEO Matt Brooks said, "After the horrors of October 7, 2023, America must continue to support the destruction of Hamas and the restoration of deterrence by backing Israel resolutely as it pursues its sensible and necessary military objectives. The American people overwhelmingly support Israel in this fight of good versus evil - Senate Democrats would do well to listen."
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Did you see the TRUMP KIPPAH that Matt held up during his GOP Convention speech?
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GET YOURS HERE!
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Bryen: The Gaza Pier Scam Is Another Biden Disaster That Turned Deadly
US Army Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley died earlier this month of injuries sustained last spring in the building of the Gaza pier. Rest in peace, soldier.
He died for a useless exercise in American arrogance. Disturbed by reports of "famine" in Gaza — the United Nations never said there was and admitted there never was such a famine — the Biden administration authorized the US Army to build a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea at the cost of either $320 million or $230 million US taxpayer dollars, depending on which Department of Defense report you read.
The US was going to swagger in and do what the administration said Israel was unable to do. But the pier was swamped and towed to Israel's Ashdod port and repaired at a cost of $20 million. It was canceled in July.
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Watson: Rubio and the Return of the Monroe Doctrine
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday tapped Florida senator Marco Rubio (R.) to lead the State Department. Rubio is, among other things, a full-spectrum opponent of China's nefarious activities, and the news of his nomination dismayed the soft-on-China crowd. He is also tough on Iran and should focus America's diplomats on promoting the nation's interests rather than exporting the culture wars. But Rubio's most distinctive foreign policy contribution is likely to be in Latin America, where he can bring the Monroe Doctrine back to the center of US foreign policy.
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Ibrahim: Remembering Why the US Navy Was Formed: To Combat Islamic Terror
[O]nce upon a time, in its fledgling youth, the United States succumbed to paying jizya to appease Muslim terrorists. That story is instructive — not least as it includes the genesis of the US Navy.
Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, the Muslims of North Africa ("Barbary") thrived on enslaving Europeans… Fresh and fair meat appeared on the horizon once the newly born United States broke free of Great Britain and was therefore no longer protected by the latter's jizya payments. In 1785, Muslim pirates from Algiers captured two American vessels, the Maria and Dauphin. They enslaved and paraded the sailors through the streets to jeers and whistles.
...Two things resulted: the Naval Act of 1794 was passed, and a permanent standing US naval force was established. But because the first war vessels would not be ready until 1800, American jizya payments — which took up 16% of the entire federal budget — began to be made to Algeria in 1795.
[For more on this fascinating period in American history, check out the 2008 book by former Jewish Policy Center director Joshua London - Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the US Navy and Shaped a Nation.]
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PA: Book Event with Dr. Tevi Troy
Join us for hear presidential historian Dr. Tevi Troy discuss his new book, The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry.
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RSVP
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NY: Hanukkah Party
Save the date for our New York regional Hanukkah party with special guest Congressman Mike Lawler.
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SAVE THE DATE
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NV: Hanukkah Party
Save the date for a special Hanukkah event in Las Vegas.
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SAVE THE DATE
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Contact information for our offices can be found on our website. Please visit us online for the latest RJC news, to see details of upcoming events, and to donate to the RJC. Read past editions of this newsletter here.
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Republican Jewish Coalition 50 F Street, N.W., Suite 100 | Washington, DC 20001
202.638.6688 | [email protected]
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