Clinton, Giuliani lead among Jews

Republican Giuliani ahead of Democrats Obama, Edwards; 58% of polled expected to vote Democrat.

Hillary Clinton 298.88 (photo credit: AP)
Hillary Clinton 298.88
(photo credit: AP)
US Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Rudy Giuliani come in first and second in approval ratings in a poll of American Jews. Clinton, the front-runner among Democrats, scored 53 percent in this year's American Jewish Committee poll. Giuliani, the former New York mayor and a front-runner among Republicans, received a 41 percent favorable rating. Giuliani was ahead - albeit within the margin of error of 3 percentage points - of two other Democratic front-runners, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who tied at 38 percent. Such a staunch showing for a Republican is unusual in a community that trends strongly Democratic. Respondents broke down into 58 percent Democrat, 26 percent independent and 15 percent Republican, diverging from the third-third-third breakdown that is the norm in general population polls. The phone survey of 1,000 Jewish Americans was conducted Nov. 6-25.