News/Commentary

Trump takes surprising lead over Harris with one voting group in blue state

August 7, 2024 | | Print Article

Former President Donald Trump has pulled into a slight lead over Vice President Kamala Harris with one group of voters in the deep-blue state of New York.

A new poll released Tuesday shows the Republican presidential nominee with a slim lead but a substantial change in approval with 50% of likely Jewish voters in the Empire State now supporting Trump. Harris, who just named her running mate on Tuesday, garnered the support of 49% of the Jewish voters surveyed in the Siena Research Institute poll.

“While the lead for Trump is slim, it marks a dramatic change from the former president’s prospects against President Biden, who in June led Trump among likely Jewish voters, 52%-46%, in the state,” Fox News noted.

The poll did show, however, that Harris has made major gains with all likely voters in the state, leading Trump 53%-39% among likely New York voters. This is in stark contrast to the numbers President Joe Biden was pulling before he ended his re-election campaign.

Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, quashing any speculation about Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish.

The vice president came under fire after she snubbed a speech before Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and, after meeting with him later in the week, pressed for an end to the conflict in Gaza.

Trump said last month before Harris was crowned the Democratic presidential nominee that “any Jewish person that voted for her or him or whoever it’s going to be … should have their head examined.”

“If you love Israel, or if you’re Jewish, because a lot of Jewish people do not like Israel, and they happen to be in New York, you know that. But if you are Jewish, regardless of Israel, if you’re Jewish, if you vote for a Democrat, you’re a fool, an absolute fool,” he told New York radio host Sid Rosenberg.

“The landscape has changed since the last Siena College poll,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.

“The change at the top of the Democratic ticket has had a noticeable, while not dramatic, effect on the horserace. Harris has the support of 86% of Democrats, up from the 75% support Biden had in June. And while independent voters support Trump over Harris 47-40%, they supported Trump over Biden 45-28%,” he added. “Harris leads with Black voters 81-11%, up from Biden’s 59-29% lead in June.”

Conducted between July 28 and Aug. 1, the poll surveyed 1,199 likely voters in New York, with 8% of those being Jewish. The Siena College Research Institute survey has a margin of error of +/- 4.0 percentage points.

Frieda Powers
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