Election Surprise: Jewish Vote Went 77% for Kerry

When Senate Majority Leader talks about "people of faith," aren't followers of Judaism also people of faith?
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Interesting news today from the National Jewish Democratic Council....

This week, news sources including the Los Angeles Times and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that a new analysis of 2004 poll data shows that even more American Jews voted Democratic than previously thought.

A whopping 77 percent of American Jews voted for Senator John Kerry in 2004, according to the new survey by The Solomon Project; when weighing only votes cast for the two major parties, 78 percent of American Jews voted for Kerry.

This strong Jewish vote occurred despite an unprecedented smear campaign waged against Senator Kerry in the Jewish community. NJDC worked to expose the lies and educate American Jews about the facts -- acting as a truth-squad where necessary, and exposing right-wing hypocrisy (click here for examples). And Jews rejected this smear campaign. As the Los Angeles Times noted, the study "found little movement toward Bush among American Jews." (Click here for more on the survey itself.)

Why did so many Jews vote for Senator Kerry, and why -- as the analysis indicates -- have American Jews so reliably voted Democratic?

In addition to having a perfect record on Israel, the priorities and values of the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate -- like his predecessors -- agree with the values of the vast majority of American Jews. And Democrats went after every vote in the Jewish community in 2004, taking no vote for granted -- even the votes of strong supporters and friends in the Jewish community.

Or as Democratic National Committee Chairman Gov. Howard Dean said yesterday in response to the survey, "Even with the overwhelming support of Jewish Americans, Democrats will continue to fight for every vote in the Jewish community."