Many Muslim and Arab American voters turned away from the Democratic Party in the presidential election over frustration with its handling of the Gaza conflict and the southern border — a historic shift — while Jewish American voters largely continued their Democratic support.
Fewer than 50% of Muslim voters supported Vice President Kamala Harris — a crash from the 65%-70% who backed President Biden in 2020, according to a nationwide exit poll by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Many Muslims turned to Green Party candidate Jill Stein, whose call to end U.S. military support for Israel reportedly resonated deeply in communities affected by the war in Gaza.
“This is the first time in more than 20 years that the Muslim community has been split between three candidates,” Robert McCaw, CAIR’s director of government affairs, told Voice of America.
Ms. Stein received 53% support from Muslim voters surveyed by Molitico Consulting. President-elect Donald Trump claimed 21%, and Ms. Harris garnered 20%.
The shift from Ms. Harris, the Democratic nominee, was particularly strong in Michigan, home to many Arabs and Muslims.
In Hamtramck — the first majority-Muslim U.S. city — Mr. Trump won 43% of the vote, compared with just 13% in 2020. Ms. Harris captured 46%, down from 85% for the Democratic ticket in 2020. This shift helped Mr. Trump secure Michigan by about 84,000 votes, according to VOA.
In Dearborn, where more than 55% of residents are of Middle Eastern descent, Ms. Harris’ support slipped to 36%, down from nearly 70% for Mr. Biden — while Mr. Trump raked in 42% of the vote, an increase from 12% in 2020.
Some Muslim voters reportedly expressed discontent over how liberal Democrats gave platforms to groups they view as linked to radical ideologies.
“For too long, the radical Islamists have been the loudest voice of Muslims, and me and many of my colleagues in the Muslim reform movement have been working against that,” Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, told The Washington Times.
He added that concerns over immigration drove Muslims to the polls against Ms. Harris.
“President Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ was not a Muslim ban,” Mr. Jasser said, referencing the Trump administration’s moves to limit radical Islamist entry. “It was actually an Islamist ban to stop immigration of the most radical militants of the planet from those six states that were identified, and yet it was, by the left, identified as a Muslim ban — when in fact, many of us said ‘Legal immigration is what we support. We [just don’t] want the immigration of people that don’t believe in what it means to be American.’”
Mr. Jasser argued that ardent anti-Israel nonprofit groups have pushed divisive agendas in Democratic circles, overshadowing the genuine ideological diversity of the Muslim community in America and pushing Muslim voters toward Ms. Stein and Mr. Trump.
Jewish voters mostly back Harris
Nationally, 79% of Jewish voters cast their ballots for Ms. Harris, according to Edison Research. However, a modest shift toward Mr. Trump was evident in certain areas.
In New York state, Mr. Trump’s support among Jews rose from 30% in 2020 to 45% on Tuesday, according to Fox News exit polls. Concerns over antisemitism and the Democratic Party’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict appeared to be motivating factors, the New York Post reported.
Ms. Harris held a 2-to-1 lead over Mr. Trump among Jewish Americans nationwide, but Mr. Trump closed the gap in New York, where Ms. Harris secured a 54% to 46% edge.
A Jewish voter in Los Angeles told The Times that her support of Ms. Harris reflected her values rooted in her Jewish identity. “I work in the area of human rights, and I believe in all human rights,” she said.
“Look, I think all people are important. … I think all humans are human beings. And Harris embodies a lot of those values I really deeply care about,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used.
Noting political polarization in the U.S., she expressed dismay over the election results and laid out concerns about authoritarianism, genocide and America’s role in international conflicts. “As a Jewish person, I feel it’s essential that we advocate for the dignity of all people, that we remember our history and oppose injustice everywhere. I want a world where this [Gaza] conflict would have never happened.”
Other Los Angeles Jews disagreed.
“Since Oct. 7 I’ve been paying more attention to things related to Israel, and I care more than I did before,” a Jewish man named Avi told The Jerusalem Post. “I haven’t been particularly happy with how the Biden-Harris administration has handled Israel since Oct. 7. In the immediate aftermath it was OK, but since then I think they’ve put a leash on Israel.”
(The Palestinian militant group Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and initiating the 13-month war in Gaza.)
Maury Litwack of the Teach Coalition, an education lobbying group, tracked Jewish voting patterns in New York and battleground states. He observed on X increased frustration with Democratic responses to antisemitism, particularly on college campuses.
The Republican Jewish Coalition reportedly contributed $15 million to support Mr. Trump, spurred by concerns that the Democrats’ alignment with liberal causes distanced them from Jewish voters’ needs.
This disconnect was apparent in some Democratic primaries: Left-wing Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri lost their primary elections partly due to Jewish voter backlash over their anti-Israel leanings.
Trump’s outreach to Muslims, Jews
The Trump campaign took steps to engage Jewish and Muslim communities.
In Hamtramck, he visited Muslim-majority neighborhoods, promising a diplomatic approach to the Gaza conflict. And in his September speech in Washington, D.C., he reiterated his commitment to fighting antisemitism, which resonated with some Jewish voters.
For Muslim and Jewish voters, inflation and education joined foreign policy as major motivators. In Hamtramck, Bangladeshi-American activist Asm Kamal Rahman said he voted Republican for the first time, driven primarily by economic concerns.
“I think everybody that lives here, they look at the issues that affect them here: the economy, the education system affecting the families,” Mr. Rahman told VOA.
• Emma Ayers can be reached at eayers@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.