Republican Jewish Coalition
November 5, 2014

Congratulations to the Jewish Republican Winners of 2014!


Washington, D.C. (November 5, 2014) — The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) offers our warmest congratulations to the Jewish Republicans who won their races yesterday in the important election of 2014.

We are especially delighted that Lee Zeldin won his congressional race in New York’s first district, making him the Jewish Republican in the 114th U.S. Congress.

We are also pleased that the Jewish Republicans in state offices around the country won their reelections. Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, South Dakota State Senator Dan Lederman, Texas State Representative and House Speaker Joe Straus and Texas State Representative Craig Goldman all won reelection. Congratulations to them all. And congratulations to Dan Schwartz, the incoming Nevada state treasurer.

We are very proud of our members and friends who made the choice to serve, took on tough opponents, and won the day. We thank them for their service, offer them our continued support, and wish them success going forward.

If you know of other Jewish Republicans who won elections this year, please let us know! Contact Shari Hillman

2014 RJC Strategy of Blocking J Street’s Influence Was Highly Effective

Washington, D.C. (November 5, 2014) — The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) today released the following statement:

A key component of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 2014 strategy was to block and blunt the unprecedented mobilization of resources by J Street to impact swing House and Senate races.

In those swing elections where both RJC-supported and J Street-supported candidates faced off, the RJC-supported candidates resoundingly defeated the J Street candidates in 61% of the contests already decided.

Three races are not yet decided, but two lean Republican. Taking those into account, the RJC candidates will have won in 72% of the contests.

That is a strong repudiation of J Street, its endorsements, and its message.

According to RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks:

“This election cycle included races in which support for Israel was a significant issue. Given the increased tensions between the Obama administration and Israel, these races took on even greater importance. J Street, a leading voice in support of President Obama’s pressure tactics on Israel, drew a line in the sand and made a concerted effort to elect like-minded candidates to Congress.

“The RJC was committed to pushing back and helping the true pro-Israel candidates win election this year. The RJC PAC and RJC leaders raised and contributed millions of dollars in this effort.

“The RJC will continue to support true pro-Israel candidates in the future and, in particular, will focus its efforts to ensure that candidates supported by J Street do not have electoral success, so that the strong bipartisan support that Israel has enjoyed in the U.S. Congress is not eroded.”

Results:

Race RJC candidate J Street candidate Winner
CO-Senate Cory Gardner Mark Udall RJC
GA-Senate David Perdue Michelle Nunn RJC
IA-Senate Joni Ernst Bruce Braley RJC
ME-Senate Susan Collins Shenna Bellows RJC
NH-Senate Scott Brown Jeanne Shaheen J Street
CA-7 Doug Ose Ami Bera GOP leaning
CA-52 Carl DeMaio Scott Peters GOP leaning
CT-5 Mark Greenberg Elizabeth Esty J Street
FL-2 Steve Southerland Gwen Graham J Street
FL-26 Carlos Curbelo Joe Garcia RJC
IA-3 David Young Staci Appel RJC
IL-12 Mike Bost Bill Enyart RJC
NH-1 Frank Guinta Carol Shea-Porter RJC
NH-2 Marilinda Garcia Annie Kuster J Street
NY-18 Nan Hayworth Sean Maloney Democrat leaning
NY-21 Elise Stefanik Aaron Woolf RJC
NY-23 Tom Reed Martha Robertson RJC
WV-3 Evan Jenkins Nick Rahall RJC

RJC: Exit Polls Show Jewish Support for GOP Continues To Grow Nationally


Washington, D.C. (November 5, 2014) — Exit polls from last night show that Republicans are getting increasing support among Jewish voters, while the Jewish community’s support for Democrats continues to erode.

The exit polls show that 33% of Jewish voters gave their support to Republicans, with 65% going to Democrats. That marks a 30-year low for Democrats.

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said:

“This year the GOP got 33% of the Jewish vote nationally. This confirms, yet again, the unmistakable trend of increasing Jewish support for Republicans.

“Since 1982, the historical average for the GOP in mid-term elections among Jewish voters has been 26%. The range has a low of 18% in 1982 and a high of 33% this year. In each of the last two midterm elections, Republicans got more than 30% of the Jewish vote.

“That trend has also been apparent in the Jewish support for Republican candidates in presidential races. From 1992 to 2012, the Jewish vote for GOP presidential candidates has risen steadily (with a small dip in 2008) from 11% to 32%.

“We are encouraged by the Republicans’ strong showing again this year and by the continued inroads the GOP is making in the Jewish community.”