Jewish voters in the U.S. have increased their support for Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) for president since he won the Democratic nomination in June. They now favor Obama over Senator John McCain (R-AZ) by more than 3 to 1, 74 percent to 22 percent.

The pattern of support for Obama among Jews is different from that in the general population. Support for the Democratic candidate was fairly stable from June through September, but rose sharply in October, in an apparent reaction to the U.S. economic crisis. By contrast, support for Obama among Jewish voters expanded more gradually, from just over 60 percent in June and July to 66 percent in August, 69 percent in September.

Support identical to 2004

According to Gallup, the current level of support among U.S. Jews for Obama is identical to the support John Kerry and John Edwards received from the Jews in the 2004 presidential election. It is only six percentage points lower than what Al Gore and Joe Lieberman received in 2000, which was the first time that a Jew appeared on the presidential ticket of a major party.

Recent support for Obama is a slightly higher among elderly Jews than among Jews younger than 55. The poll found that while about three quarters of Jews aged 55 and older support Obama for president, Jews under 55 supported him by just a 2:1 margin. Gallup did not explain how the overall proportion of Jewish supporters for Obama could be identical to the level of support he receives from Jews over 55, despite the fact that the younger age groups favor him less.

About 56 percent of Jews are Democrats, 29 percent are independent, and only about 15 percent are Republicans.

Record holder: Reagan

Except for Jimmy Carter in 1980, no Democratic presidential candidate has failed to win  a majority of American Jews since in the last 80 years. The all-time Republican record holder for Jewish support was Ronald Reagan, who earned 39 percent of the Jewish vote that year.

President George W. Bush captured 22 percent of the Jewish vote nationwide in 2004.

According to a 2006 survey conducted by the American Jewish Committee, 15 percent of American Jews now identify as Republican and nearly 30 percent consider themselves independent.