U.S. Political Party Identification of Jews

In politics, as of today, do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent? (American Jewish Committee)

Jews are substantially more likely to identify themselves as Democrats than are members of any other major religious group in the country. Data for 2004 shows that 50% of Jews say they are Democrats, compared with 34% who say they are independents and only 16% who say they are Republicans. These patterns have remained extremely stable since the early 1990s. The national average for partisanship is 28% Republican, 38% independent, and 34% Democrat. Data comparing party identification among Jews between 2008 and 2011 shows considerable gains for Republicans, but the Jewish Democratic voting trend remains strong nonetheless.

*No survey for 2014.

Pew Research Center

(Gallup)

*Note that the small sample size increases the margin of error.

In every poll, Gallup asks independents if they lean more toward the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. The resulting partisanship measures serve as a useful predictor of how people will vote, because partisanship is such a strong predictor of vote choice, and those who lean to one party are highly likely to also support that party. These data show Jews who identify as political independents are more likely to lean toward the Democratic Party than toward the Republican. Taken together, more than two in three Jews, 68%, either identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party. Twenty-eight percent of Jews are either Republican or lean Republican, and 4% are independents with no partisan leanings.