Harris’s Gaza policy is turning Arab Americans into Trump voters

Poll shows war in the Middle East is the top issue for those who identify as Democrats

Kamala Harris’s policy on the war in Gaza is turning Arab Americans into Donald Trump voters, new polling shows.
The Republican presidential candidate leads Ms. Harris 46 percent to 42 percent among likely Arab American voters, who form a significant population in several swing states, according to the Arab American Institute (AAI).
It marks a stunning reversal for the vice president, and a sign of how Arab Americans have split from Democrats in record numbers over the war in Gaza. For the last 15 years, they have backed the party two-to-one against Republicans.
“In our 30 years of polling Arab American voters, we have not witnessed anything like the role that the war on Gaza is having on voter behavior,” the AAI said in a statement.
“With little over one month remaining before the election, Arab Americans… will be watching to see if their deeply felt concerns with Gaza and now Lebanon will be recognized and respected with a promise for change.”
Just 12 percent of those polled said they would vote for a third-party candidate, despite previous studies suggesting they could take around 30 percent of the vote.
“It’s Trump who is the beneficiary of the community’s anger and despair over the Biden administration’s failure to prevent the unfolding genocide in Gaza,” the AAI continued.
Just over eight in 10 Arab Americans saw Gaza as important in deciding their vote, according to the polling.
It is the top issue for those who identify as Democrats, while for Arab American voters overall it ranks just behind jobs and the economy.
Joe Biden, the former Democratic presidential candidate who stood aside for Ms. Harris in July, saw his support among Arab Americans crater over his support for Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 attack and its subsequent military action in Gaza.
In the Michigan Democratic primary in February, more than 100,000 voters marked “uncommitted” on their ballots to punish the US president.
There were expectations that Ms. Harris would seek to soften the administration’s stance on the issue when she entered the presidential race. However, she has largely maintained Mr. Biden’s “ironclad” support for Israel.
At the Democratic National Convention in August, hundreds of activists marched in downtown Chicago to protest against Ms. Harris’s policy on Israel. Some accused the vice president of “genocide.”