‘It’s complicated’: Jewish voters react to midterm election results
"It was clear to me that the Jews lost, at least in terms of the rhetoric across the United States and the frequency with which I hear the term ‘Israel lobby.’"
For some Jewish American voters, a familiar Israeli sentiment has entered their lexicon when describing the 2026 midterm election: It’s complicated.
Pleased with Democrats’ taking control of the House and Senate, and their newly won ability to serve as a counterweight to President Donald Trump’s polices — on everything from inflation and gas, to ICE and executive power — several local voters told the Chronicle they nonetheless have concerns about some of the far-left Democratic candidates elected.
Longtime South Hills resident Joan Rothaus summed up the opinion of many Jewish Democrats: “It’s great for the country, bad for Israel.”
Rothaus hopes the far-left wing of the party — represented by politicians like Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, newly elected to the U.S. Senate — isn’t that large.
Despite her trepidations about what a U.S. Democratic congressional majority might mean for Israel, Rothaus hopes it will be good for America.
“I guess it shows we’re a democracy, but the future depends on what happens over the next two years,” she said, expressing concern over Trump’s recent appointment of Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff, whom she described as “a lunatic.”
American Jews remained overwhelmingly supportive of Democratic candidates in last week’s election. According to the NBC News exit poll, 67% of Jews across the country voted Democrat, and 32% voted Republican.
University of Pittsburgh freshman Sylvia Svoboda, who considers herself a liberal Democrat, said she’s cautiously optimistic about the results of the midterms but troubled by some of the rhetoric she’s heard about Israel.
“I don’t fully agree with the Democratic opinions on that but, like so many things, what the Republicans stood for was just too extreme,” she said. “It’s like trying to choose one thing over a lot of other good things.”
Svoboda cited gas prices and immigration as two domestic issues that have concerned her over the last few years.
“It’s definitely not cheap to drive,” she said.
In terms of immigration, Svoboda said, one can look to the Holocaust as a stark example of what can happen when people are demonized for who they are or where they come from.
“You can see it in our own streets, in our own country. It’s a wake-up call,” she said. “Something had to be done about it.”
Svoboda also expressed skepticism about Trump’s professed support for Israel.
“It’s pretty easy to see through his façade,” she said. “He lies a lot. He says things more for personal gain. I think a lot of Jewish people support Trump and the Republicans because they said they support Israel and would support it. I don’t know. He says a lot of things.”
Things aren’t murky for Jon Tucker, a self-described “right of center, moderate Republican,” who’s registered as a Democrat so he can vote in Democratic primary elections. Tucker is also a longtime member of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
He said while it’s being “over-sensationalized” online, there is a “very strong anti-Zionist contingent in the Democrat party who want Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries out.”
Tucker pointed to Michigan’s El-Sayed as well as the congresswoman who represents Squirrel Hill.
“Look at PA-12, Summer Lee — we have experience with her. She won’t even return calls from the Chronicle. So, you know, there’s more of that coming,” he said.
While some pundits attempted to blame American Jews and American Jewish lobbies for the Republican losses, that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, Tucker said.
“Jewish votes trended toward Republican candidates,” he said. “In Michigan it was like 30%. So, it’s the biggest jump towards Republican candidates ever, and that’s a simple fact. You can’t blame the Jewish people. You can blame the horseshoe left and right.”
As for the price of gas, Tucker called the issue “hogwash.”
“The reason fuel prices, notably diesel, are so high has less to do with the flow coming out of the Strait of Hormuz … and more to do with refining capacity,” he said. “The Ukrainians have blown up a bunch of Russia refineries. There hasn’t been a new refinery built in the United States since the 1970s.”
Tucker pointed to a political ad created by a political action committee in support of El-Sayed, which blamed the price of groceries on Israel.
“Blame the Jews for the price of eggs. The price of eggs has gone way down,” he said. “And bananas, bananas are like 69 cents a pound. Give me a break!”
For Karen Gal-Or, her concern about the recent election is existential.
“My fear is really not about, did the Democrats win or did the Republicans win,” she said. “It was clear to me that the Jews lost, at least in terms of the rhetoric across the United States and the frequency with which I hear the term ‘Israel lobby.’ It’s now so common it’s not even remarkable, and that’s a scary thing.”
Gal-Or describes herself as a moderate, so she’s pleased, she said, when moderates win elections and people in power care about the country, solving problems and, if possible, reaching across the aisle. That’s the model that provides solutions to issues like the cost of goods, healthcare, access to good schools, as well as housing and energy costs, she said.
“My hope is that some of these candidates who aren’t from the extreme wings of their parties are going to focus on solving these basic issues.”
And yet, she noted how Jews were used in a negative way by some politicians during their campaigns.
“We saw it in the Abdul El-Sayed race. I think El-Sayed is really an anti-Zionist,” Gal-Or said. “I think he really does hope for the destruction of the state of Israel, which is where half of the world’s Jewry lives, including my family.”
She pointed to the senator-elect’s comments about the March terrorist attack at Temple Israel’s preschool in West Bloomfield, Michigan — when he said, “hurt people hurt people — and his platforming of extremists like Hassan Piker and Tucker Carlson.
Gal-Or was also saddened to see Vice President JD Vance’s comments in the immediate aftermath of the election, blaming Republican losses on the Iran war and urging a shift in America’s relationship with Israel.
Despite her concerns, Gal-Or is trying to remain optimistic and said she is hopeful that the moderate Democrats tackle pressing issues in the U.S., and not focus negatively on Israel and Jews.
To put it in another way, she said, “The election results are complicated for a lot of Jewish Americans.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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