Pew poll suggests Jewish shift to GOP

JTA

WASHINGTON — A survey suggested a shift toward Republicans in party identification among Jews.

The survey, published Thursday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Life, showed an overall shift to the GOP among various religious groups.

Jewish identification with Democrats slipped from 72 to 65 percent between 2008 and 2011, the poll suggested, and the shift to affiliation with the Republican Party grew from 20 to 29 percent.

Pew interviewed 330 Jewish registered voters over the course of 2011 as opposed to 645 in 2008.

Among all registered voters, identification with Democrats slipped by 3 percent, while identification with Republicans rose by 4 percent. At present, 48 percent of registered voters lean Democratic, while 43 percent lean Republican.

The margin of error was 6.5 percentage points.