What American Jews want from the midterms

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander holds a Muslim-Jewish unity campaign rally with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Palestinian activist Moshen Mahdaw as Lander campaigned for the New York 10th Congressional District on June 14, 2026, in New York City. | Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images There’s a lot of discussion about Jewish voters in politics this cycle.

With Democrats embroiled in loud arguments over Israel and Gaza, Republicans have been hoping to capture more of the Jewish vote by linking criticism of Israel to antisemitism.

“How a Jewish person can vote for a Democrat is beyond me,” President Donald Trump said last month.

His administration has made cracking down on anti-Israel campus activists — a top early priority — and has called Democrats “ Palestinian ” or “ jihadists .” Meanwhile, Democrats have pointed to the rise of openly antisemitic influencers within the conservative movement, which has become a divisive topic on the right that also runs into debates over Israel , as a pressing threat to Jews.

But what do Jewish voters themselves actually want? That’s a nuanced question, and one that we have fresh polling and voting data on to help us dissect this cycle.

American Jews aren’t a large voting bloc — just over 2 percent of the population — but there are also significant communities in some key swing states and competitive districts.

As a matter of partisan politics, Jews have historically voted Democratic by wide margins, but Republicans have long hoped to peel them off, often by emphasizing their support for Israel.

Though it’s been a common refrain from pro-Israel and Republican activists for decades that a GOP realignment was just around the corner , it wasn’t until the 2024 presidential election that these voices got a firm boost.

Nationally, and in local communities, Jewish support for the Democratic Party seemed to drop slightly .

Key takeaways .Jewish voters remain strongly and consistently Democratic overall, despite a modest Republican shift in 2024 Domestic concerns — especially democracy, affordability, health care, and abortion rights — are key issues, while rising antisemitism and personal safety have become major unifying anxieties.

Views on Israel are complex: most Jewish Americans identify as pro-Israel while criticizing Netanyahu or Israeli policies, and many distinguish legitimate policy debate from antisemitism—even as they worry that anti-Israel rhetoric can cross that line.

Elections since then have been difficult to parse.

In last year’s New York City mayoral election, for example, Zohran Mamdani won about 33 percent of Jewish voters , compared to the 63 percent that went for Andrew Cuomo in a race where divisions over Israel and antisemitism featured strongly.