Jews Leaning Republican Up More Than 50% In Two Years

Pew Poll Chart

A recent Pew Research Center Poll shows a growth from 20% of Jews who were Republicans or leaned Republican in 2008 to 33% in 2010.

Republican or Republican leaning Jews
2006 - 26%
2008 - 20%
2010 - 33%

Democrat or Democrat leaning Jews
2006 - 68%
2008 - 72%
2010 - 60%

This seems to indicate not only a disaffection with the Democratic Party, but particularly in terms of high hopes Jewish voters had for Barack Obama. The percentage of Republican or Republican leaning Jews in 2006 was 26%. Six percent left the Republican side in 2008, but 6% have come back in just two years joined by 7% more.

Certainly the coolness of Obama administration policy toward Israel and courting of the Muslim block has had an impact on a group that used to be solidly Democrat and liberal.

With 60% of Jews still leaning Democrat and left, there's no imminent danger of Jews turning conservative or Republican, but it is a warning sign when a third of Jews now identify more with Republicans than Democrats. It's possible that this is the start of the same sort of shift that turned the majority of blacks from being Republicans to being Democrats in the 1960's after nearly a century of being solidly Republican.

H/T David Kaplan of NewRealBlog