But presidential candidate significantly trails Jewish vote for recent Democratic candidates.
By JTAobama mccain 224.88(photo credit: AP)
Barack Obama leads John McCain by 27 points among Jewish voters, according to a new survey.
Obama leads 57 percent to 30% among those polled in the American Jewish Committee's 2008 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion, with 13% undecided, but he significantly trails the Jewish vote for recent Democratic presidential candidates.
By contrast, John Kerry received 76% of the Jewish vote four years ago against George W. Bush, and in the three prior presidential elections, Democrats won 78% to 80% of Jewish votes. The 2004 AJC survey, taken three weeks earlier in that campaign than this year, found Kerry leading 69% to 24%.
The poll by survey research organization Synovate of 914 self-identifying Jewish respondents, selected from Synovate's consumer mail panel, was conducted by telephone September 8-21. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
McCain enjoyed a 78% to 13% lead among Orthodox Jews, but Obama won easily among all other Jewish groups: Conservatives, 59% to 26%; Reform, 62% to 27%; and those calling themselves "just Jewish," 61% to 26%.
McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate was unpopular in the Jewish community, according to the survey. Just 37% approved, with 54% disapproving of the selection. By contrast, Obama's choice of Joe Biden garnered 73% approval and 15% disapproval.
The economy was seen as the most important issue. Fifty-four percent of respondents said that was the one issue they would "most like the candidates to discuss," with 11% answering health care, 6% the war in Iraq and just 3% answering Israel.
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