Follow us on social

google cta
Did Israel hurt the Harris vote in Michigan?

Did Israel hurt the Harris vote in Michigan?

Foreign policy was low on voters minds, but in these critical counties, Harris was underperforming.

Reporting | QiOSK
google cta
google cta

(Updated 7:45 a.m. ET)

Foreign policy was way down on the list of voters' concerns in Tuesday's election, according to the exit polls, something that was expected.

It is not entirely clear, however, whether President Biden's Israel policy hurt the Democratic vote in swing states, particularly in Michigan, where returns Tuesday night indicated that Vice President Harris's performance in key Arab-American/Muslim counties like Wayne County (home to Dearborn) and Washtenaw County (home to University of Michigan) — were not rising to the level of President Biden's performance four years earlier.

This could mean thousands of critical votes in a race that ultimately was called for Donald Trump early this morning.

Unofficial results in Dearborn reported overnight showed 27% for Harris and a stunning 46% for Trump and 22% for Jill Stein. The Mayor of Dearborn did not endorse Trump, but would not endorse Harris either, mainly because of the administration's Israel policy.

As of 7:30 a.m. ET today, Harris was winning Washtenaw County by 71% with 95% of the vote in; Biden won it by 72% in 2020. Meanwhile, Trump was getting 26% of the vote in Washtenaw, compared to 25% in 2020, so not so far off from 2020 results. However, in Wayne County, Harris was winning by 63%, which is lower than Biden's 68% in 2020, and third party candidate Jill Stein was getting nearly 1.5% — over 12,600 votes — which was much more than what she was showing in other Michigan counties. Trump was at 33% in Wayne, outperforming his 30% vote total of 2020.

In the Associated Press's VoteCast exit polls, foreign policy came in less than 8%, compared to 39% for the economy. In Michigan, foreign policy came in around the same percentage, while 41% of voters said the economy was most important to them.

In exit polling by a consortium of news organizations, including NBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN, foreign policy came in at 4% nationally, far behind the economy at 27% and 35% who said the state of democracy was their most important issue.

What did these exit polls say about Israel? It's not a crystal clear picture.

In Michigan, 30% of voters polled said U.S. support for Israel is "too strong" (62% of Harris voters said so, as did 36% of Trump voters). Some 26% said U.S. support wasn't "strong enough" and 37% said it was "just right." This basically reflects the national polling on the Israel question.


Story is developing.


Top photo credit: Arab Americans gather at a restaurant for a presidential election watch party In Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. November 5, 2024. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
google cta
Reporting | QiOSK
POGO The Bunker
Top image credit: Project on Government Oversight

Why do military planes keep crashing?

Military Industrial Complex

The Bunker appears originally at the Project on Government Oversight and is republished here with permission.

keep readingShow less
Rand Paul, Tim Kaine, Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie
Top photo credit: Rand Paul (Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons); Tim Caine (Philip Yabut/Shutterstock); Ro Khanna (US Govt/public domain); Thomas Massie (Facebook)

Left-right backlash against war with Venezuela is growing

Latin America

President Donald Trump declared in his second inaugural address, “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”

But he may be trying to get into a war in Venezuela. A chorus of voices on both sides of the political aisle are urging him to stick to his better instincts. Perhaps news this week that the president is now willing to talk to Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is a sign they are having some impact. Or not.

keep readingShow less
Vietnam War Agent Orange
Top photo credit: Private Fred L. Greenleaf crosses a deep irrigation canal during an allied operation during the Vietnam War. (Photo: National Archives)

Agent Orange is the chemical weapon that keeps on killing

Global Crises

November 30 marks the International Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare. Established by the United Nations in 2015, the day honors those who have suffered from chemical weapons and reaffirms our collective commitment to ensure these horrors never happen again.

Since the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force in 1997, 197 nations have ratified it.Israel signed but never ratified; Egypt, North Korea, and South Sudan have not signed. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced in July 2023 that all chemical weapons stockpiles reported by member nations, including those in the United States, have been destroyed. It is one of the greatest disarmament achievements in modern history.

keep readingShow less
google cta
Want more of our stories on Google?
Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.