An election poll conducted by Lazar Studies, led by Dr. Menachem Lazar, found that public support for the Religious Zionist Party would increase if it were led by retired IDF Brigadier General Ofer Winter.
According to the poll results, if the elections were held today, the party under Winter would receive eight seats, a steep improvement over the 2.8% support or three seats the party is expected to receive under the current leader, Minister Bezalel Smotrich. According to this, Winter would take the party from possibly not passing the electoral threshold to having a significant presence in the Knesset.
The poll also included a comparison between several scenarios. In a scenario where former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former Minister Yoaz Hendel run in separate new parties, the two together would receive 33 seats: 24 for Bennett and nine for Hendel. In such a case, Netanyahu's coalition would only receive 43 seats while the opposition bloc, led by Bennett, would reach 67.
However, in a scenario where Ofer Winter would lead the Religious Zionists, Bennett and Hendel would drop to 22 and 7 seats, respectively, and Netanyahu's bloc would increase to 49.
The source of Winter's votes would be diverse: According to the report, Winter would keep Smotrich's three seats in addition to two seats from undecided voters. Of the three additional seats he would receive, one would be from Yoaz Hendel's reservists' party, one would be from Otzma Yehudit, and one would be from the Likud.