Why Jews Aren’t Joining Forces With the American Right

For decades, American Jews have remained Democratic loyalists. In the 2020 election, approximately 70 percent to 76 percent of Jewish voters supported Joe Biden, while around 21 percent to 30 percent voted for Donald Trump—a pattern that carries back to 1968, when roughly 71 percent of Jews voted Democratic, according to the Jewish Virtual Library. Recent figures, however, reveal that 83 percent of Orthodox Jews support Trump, compared to 81 percent of Reform Jews and 62 percent of Conservative Jews who favor Kamala. Secular and unaffiliated Jews, meanwhile, tell pollsters their primary concerns are “the future of democracy” (51 percent) and climate change (31 percent). Notably, only 10 percent of American Jews now identify as Orthodox.