Poll Shows Jews Voting Democratic In Midterms, But GOP Holds Edge On Israel

April 13, 2026

To: Jewish Electorate Institute

From: The Mellman Group

Re: Poll Shows Jews Voting Democratic In Midterms, But GOP Holds Edge On Israel

Date: April 13, 2026

This analysis is based on the findings of a survey of 800 registered Jewish voters nationally. The survey was conducted using a high-quality online national panel from March 13-23, 2026. The margin of error for the sample as a whole is +/- 3.5% at the 95% level of confidence (higher for subgroups).


Our latest JEI poll shows American Jews are voting heavily Democratic in the midterm election for Congress. At the same time, Jews have questions about what the Democratic Party stands for, particularly on Israel. Republicans, on the other hand, are most identified as being pro-Israel, which is also one of their biggest image advantages over Democrats.



The Democratic Lead In The Jewish Vote Is More Than In The Last Two Trump Presidential Races, But Not Yet Up To The Midterm Margin During The First Trump Administration



National polls have been showing Democrats opening large leads in the generic vote heading into the November midterm elections. This first poll on the Jewish vote for the midterms shows Democrats getting 74% of the Jewish vote, compared to 22% for Republicans, and 4% undecided among likely voters.


This is a shift from the last two Presidential elections where Republicans, with Trump at the top of the ticket, made slight gains among Jewish voters, closing the margin to -44 points in 2020 and -42 in 2024. But it is still not up to the level of the 2018 midterm results in the first Trump administration, when exit polls showed Jews voting Democratic for Congress by a 64-point margin (82%-18%). The margin in 2018 was the largest in decades, second only to the 2006 midterms when Democrats won the Jewish vote in the midterms of President George W. Bush’s second term by 76 points during the Iraq war.

Jewish Women Are More Democratic, Fueling The Midterm Margin


The partisan divide is even bigger among women. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Jewish women identify as Democrats, including 50% who are strong Democrats, and 24% who identify as Democratic Socialists.


Likely Jewish women voters are supporting the Democrats in the generic vote: 78% Democratic, 19% Republican, and only 3% undecided. The Democratic vote margin increases significantly with age among Jewish women. Women ages 18-29 vote +46 Democratic, rising to +60 among those 40–59 and +58 among those 60 and older. These margins exceed those of the overall Jewish electorate, where voters ages 40–59 and 60+ both register a +48 Democratic advantage. The strength of Jewish identity also follows a consistent pattern. Among women who place lower importance on being Jewish, the Democratic advantage is +74, compared to +61 among the overall electorate. Among those who place higher importance on being Jewish, Jewish women still lean more Democratic than the overall electorate, at +41 versus +36.


Jewish women are also more likely to disapprove of Trump’s job performance and the current U.S military action against Iran. They are four points more likely than the overall electorate to disapprove of Trump’s job performance (77% vs. 73%) and the U.S. military action in Iran (59% vs. 55%).


These findings underscore that Jewish women are not only more Democratic across key demographic and attitudinal dimensions but are also more likely to hold views that reinforce Democratic alignment, helping to fuel the party’s broader electoral advantage.


Despite The Vote, Jews Have Questions On What The Democratic Party Stands For Today


The Jewish electorate continues to be decidedly Democratic, with 69% identifying as Democrats, 24% as Republicans, and only 7% as independents not leaning toward one party or the other. Republican Jews have a more favorable view of their party than Democratic Jews do of theirs. Nearly all Republican Jews (88%) see their party favorably, including 40% very favorably; and only 11% unfavorable. Among Democratic Jews, just over three-quarters (78%) are favorable, and only a third (32%) is very favorable, with nearly one in five (19%) feeling unfavorable about their party.


Jewish voters also have more questions about what Democrats stand for today than Republicans. Among Jews voting Republican in the midterms, 87% said they understand what the Republican party stands for today, with 36% saying they understand very well, compared to only 13% who said they did not know or were unsure. Among Jews voting Democratic in the midterms, only 71% had a good understanding of what the party stands for, compared to 29% either not understanding or unsure.


Even with Democratic Jews having questions about their own party, there is more clarity and unity about how they see the GOP. Nearly all Jewish Democrats (94%) have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party, including 80% very unfavorable. This reverse partisanship is also seen among Republican Jews, but at slightly lower levels, with 84% having an unfavorable view of the Democratic party, 59% very unfavorable, and 12% with a favorable view.

American Jews’ perceptions of the two parties largely favor Democrats, reflecting the large disparity in party identification. Jews identify Democrats most with abortion rights, healthcare, working to ensure fair elections, and fighting for the middle class. These are also traits where Democrats have their biggest advantage over Republicans.


But Republicans now have an advantage over Democrats in being identified as pro-Israel and preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The two biggest changes in perceptions of the parties since the JEI poll of Jews during the last Trump midterm in 2018 are on Iran and Israel. With the Trump Administration now conducting a war against Iran, there is a 29-point increase in Republicans on stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.


The next biggest change since 2018 is the 22-point drop in perceptions of the Democratic Party as being pro-Israel. In fact, being pro-Israel and fighting antisemitism are two of the least descriptive phrases about Democrats, along with “strong” and “gets things done”. Even among Jewish Democrats, those same four items (pro-Israel, antisemitism, strong, and gets things done) are the least descriptive of the party.


In contrast, the strongest perceptions of the Republican party with the Jewish community are around being pro-Israel, which is the most descriptive item, followed by preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons, patriotic, strong, and fighting antisemitism.


The biggest image advantage for Republicans over Democrats is that Democrats are much more likely to be seen as “too critical of Israel”.

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U.S. Jews United Behind Israel As A Jewish Homeland, But Less Clear On Zionism; Most See Rising Use Of Antisemitism In Debates On US-Israel Issues

April 13, 2026
To: Jewish Electorate Institute From: The Mellman Group Re: U.S. Jews United Behind Israel As A Jewish Homeland, But Less Clear On Zionism; Most See Rising Use Of Antisemitism In Debates On US-Israel Issues Date: April 13, 2026

POLITICO: The DNC is meeting — and Israel is at the forefront once again

April 10, 2026
Democrats’ internal feud over Israel is rearing its head on the party’s biggest stage — again.  Critics of Israel’s military actions and the pro-Israel lobby’s interference in recent Democratic primaries are setting up thorny test votes at the Democratic National Committee’s spring meeting in New Orleans on Thursday, where members will debate resolutions recognizing a Palestinian state, conditioning military aid to Israel and condemning the “growing influence” of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other dark-money groups.

U.S. JEWS IDENTIFY AS BOTH PRO-ISRAEL & CRITICAL OF ITS GOV’T

April 7, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: info@jewishelectorateinstitute.org TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2026 202-695-0531 U.S. JEWS IDENTIFY AS BOTH PRO-ISRAEL & CRITICAL OF ITS GOV’T Jewish Repub’s, Indi’s Support Pro-Israel Spending in Primaries; Dems Less So AIPAC popular among R’s, not as much among D’s; DMFI better liked by D’s WASHINGTON – As the Democratic National Committee sets to convene in New Orleans this week and consider resolutions on Israel and its AIPAC lobby, a new poll for the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) finds the majority of American Jews identifies as both pro-Israel and critical of the Israeli Government. There is limited awareness of the spending by pro-Israel groups in the 2026 primaries, with only one in ten saying they have heard a great deal about it. Attitudes split on partisan lines with majorities of independent and Republican Jews supporting this spending, while a plurality of Democrats is opposed. But still, the majority of Democrats are either not sure or supportive, the poll finds. These are among the top findings of a survey of registered Jews nationally for the JEI by The Mellman Group, several others of which were released last week before Passover. A fuller release of all its findings will come on Friday, after the holiday ends. Further, attitudes about AIPAC and DMFI, the pro-Israel groups spending the most in these primaries, are also split on partisan lines, with AIPAC slightly underwater among Democrats, and popular among Republicans. DMFI is less known but better liked among Democrats. J Street’s numbers are relatively even but measurably smaller. This analysis is based on the findings of a survey of 800 registered Jewish voters nationally. The survey was conducted for JEI by The Mellman Group using a high-quality online national panel from March 13-23, 2026. The margin of error for the sample as a whole is +/-3.5% at the 95% level of confidence (higher for subgroups). Majority of U.S. Jews Identifies as Both Pro-Israel and Critical of Israeli Policies An overwhelming 86% of American Jews describe themselves as generally pro-Israel. However, fewer than one-quarter (23%) say they are both pro-Israel and supportive of Israeli policies. A 63% majority identifies as pro-Israel and critical of the Israeli government policies – split roughly equally between those who are critical of some policies (32%) and those critical of many (31%). Just a combined 14% say they are not generally pro-Israel (9%) or do not hold a view (5%). This trend is not dissimilar to one in the JEI poll that shows Jews are also generally patriotic towards America but also critical of some government policies, numbers for which will be released Friday.  While pro-Israel sentiment extends across party (84% of Democrats, 90% of independents, 94% of Republicans), Democrats are considerably more likely to be critical of Israeli policies (73% critical) than independents (44%) and Republicans (39%).