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ELECTION 2020: THE (JEWISH) WRAP-UP

Next Congress likely to continue a strong Jewish presence

(JNS) Despite comprising just two percent of the total U.S. population, Jews have always played an outsized role in politics.

In the outgoing 116th Congress, nine Jewish members served in the Senate and 27 served in the House of Representatives. Reflective of American Jewish voting patterns overall, every Jewish member of the Senate and 25 members in the House are Democrats or caucus with Democrats, with the exceptions of David Kutsoff (R-Tenn.) and Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.).

While Congress traditionally does not play a prominent role in foreign policy, support for the State of Israel has long been a bipartisan consensus view. However, with the election of several supporters of the BDS movement in Congress comes concerns about the erosion of support on the left. At the same time, Jewish congressional members also largely reflect the liberal and progressive views of the majority of Jewish Americans, with support for expanding access to health care, climate change, reproductive rights, racial justice and gun control.

Here is a breakdown of how Jewish candidates fared in the Nov. 3 election as of Nov. 8.

U.S. SENATE

All nine Jewish senators from the 116th Congress were not up for re-election and will continue to serve in the next Congress, including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who was the minority leader and could serve as majority leader if the Democrats gain control of the upper chamber. Several Jewish candidates did compete for senate seats in the recent election.

In Alaska, with 50 percent reporting, Independent Al Gross, who was supported by Democrats, lost to incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

In Georgia, Jon Ossoff, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2018, ran behind incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue. But, in accordance with Georgia electoral law, with no candidate garnering at least 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two finishers will be held on Jan. 5. 

In the Georgia special election to serve the remaining two years of the term of Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Matt Lieberman, a son of former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), finished in fifth place with just 2.8 percent of the vote. Incumbent Republican As the two top vote-getters, Sen. Kelly Loeffler will face reverend and pastor Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, who has in the past defended the antisemitic Rev. Jeremiah Wright, in the special election. 

In Wyoming, as expected, Israeli American scientist Merav Ben-David lost to former Republican Rep. Cynthia Lummis.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

For the incoming 117th Congress, the Democratic Party will maintain control of the House with several Jewish representatives likely to retain key leadership and committee leadership roles.

Playing a prominent role during the impeachment of President Donald Trump, Rep. Adam Schiff was easily re-elected for California’s 28th Congressional district. He will be joined by Jewish Democratic Reps. Alan Lowenthal, Mike Levin and Brad Sherman part of California’s congressional delegation. Notably, Sherman has announced his intention to run for the head of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee after Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) lost in his state’s June primary.

In Florida, incumbent Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel defeated controversial Republican Laura Loomer, who is also Jewish (see story next page). Frankel will be joined by Reps. Ted Deutch and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a former chair of the Democratic National Convention.

In Illinois, Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Brad Schneider easily won re-election. Schneider has been an outspoken proponent of maintaining Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge.

New Jersey saw mixed results of Jewish candidates. Former construction consulting executive David Richter lost to incumbent Democratic Rep. Andy Kim. However, in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer defeated Republican Frank Pallotta.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who chairs the powerful House Judiciary Committee and also played a prominent role in the impeachment of Trump, easily beat his Republican opponent, Cathy Bernstein. He is joined on the New York congressional delegation by Zeldin. However, Democratic Rep. Max Rose was upset by Republican New York State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis.

Jewish candidates in Pennsylvania saw mixed results so far as well, with incumbent Jewish Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips beating his Republican opponent, Kendall Qualls. At press time, however, in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, businesswoman Lisa Scheller has been ahead of incumbent Jewish Democratic Rep. Susan Wild, 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent, respectively.

In North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, Democratic attorney and small-business owner Kathy Manning—the first woman to chair the Jewish Federations of North America—handily defeated Republican Lee Haywood.

However, in Missouri’s 2nd District, Democratic State Sen. Jill Schupp lost to incumbent Republican Rep. Ann Wagner.

Elsewhere, several other Jewish candidates are seeing success.

In Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth defeated Republican Rhonda Palazzo.

In Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin defeated Republican Gregory Coll.

Michigan will send two Jewish Democrats to Congress in the next term with incumbents Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and incumbent Democratic Rep. Andy Levin both beating back their Republican opponents.

In Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. David Cicilline won against two Independent challengers.

In Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District, incumbent Jewish Republican Rep. David Kustoff defeated Democrat Erika Pearson. In Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen defeated Republican commentator Charlotte Bergmann.

In Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria won against former Republican Rep. Scott Taylor. Luria and Michigan’s Slotkin are two Jewish members of the so-called “Gang of Nine” that are a group of moderate Democrats with security backgrounds. 

Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn.
(Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

In Washington’s 8th Congressional District, at press time, incumbent Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier was leading Republican Jesse Jensen.

Election 2020 Short Takes  

(JTA) – Besides the presidential election, the 2020 elections featured hundreds of races across the country with huge implications for local and national politics.

Several had higher stakes for the Jewish community, whether they involve key Jewish politicians or issues that American Jews are particularly concerned about.

Congresswomen Elaine Luria and Elissa Slotkin prevail

By Philissa Cramer (JTA) – Two Jewish moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives – Elaine Luria in Virginia and Elissa Slotkin in Michigan – have narrowly held onto their congressional seats.

Luria and Slotkin are two Jewish members of the so-called “Gang of Nine,” a group of moderate Democrats with national security backgrounds who were elected in 2018 to seats that had previously been held by Republicans.

U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)
(Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

A third Jewish lawmaker in the group, Max Rose in New York’s 11th District, is lagging far behind his Republican opponent, although he has not conceded the race.

Luria, a Navy veteran, was defending her incumbency in Virginia’s conservative 2nd District, where she has faced sharp criticism from some constituents when she changed her mind and voted to impeach President Donald Trump after learning that he had pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. She had been considered likely but not assured of winning.

Slotkin, too, had been considered likely to win but faced criticism for her vote to impeach Trump. A former CIA analyst, she is known as a “pothole politician” for her efforts to help her constituents solve practical problems in their lives.

Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes Congress’ first adherent of the antisemitic QAnon theory

By Gabe Friedman (JTA) – Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene will become the first member of Congress who has expressed belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory, which is rich in antisemitism.. Greene, whose Democratic challenger dropped out of the race in September, has made headlines throughout the campaign cycle for her promotion of the theory. She signed an online posting in 2018 that accused Jewish billionaire George Soros and the Rothschild family of being involved in the conspiracy, which alleges that powerful figures run an international pedophile ring and influence world policy.

In a rare move for them, the Republican Jewish Coalition endorsed her Republican primary opponent in July, without comment. Greene’s eventual Democratic opponent, Kevin Van Ausdal, dropped out of the race in the very conservative 14th district, in part because Greene’s supporters made him too fearful to campaign.

President Trump has endorsed Greene, calling her a “future star” of the Republican Party, and the National Republican Congressional Committee gave her campaign $5,000 in September.

Former Jewish Federations head wins North Carolina congressional race

By Ron Kampeas (JTA) – Kathy Manning, a former immigration attorney who led two national Jewish organizations, won a congressional seat in North Carolina. Manning defeated Lee Haywood, her Republican opponent in an open Greensboro-area district. The 6th District was redrawn by the courts and became a Democratic stronghold, leading incumbent Republican Mark Walker to retire.

Kathy Manning

Manning, 63, was the first woman to chair the Jewish Federations of North America from 2009-2012, and she was a founding chairwoman of Prizmah, the umbrella body for Jewish day schools of all denominations. She ran an unsuccessful race in 2018 when she ran in what was then the 13th District.

Cori Bush, Democrat who supports BDS, wins Missouri congressional race

By Ben Sales (JTA) – Cori Bush, a Democrat who expressed support for the movement to boycott Israel, is set to become the St. Louis area’s next congresswoman.

Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who also support the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel – known as BDS – are also expected to win.

A now-deleted page on Bush’s campaign website had said she supported BDS. If she still holds those views, it will bring the number of BDS supporters in the Democratic caucus to three.

Projections are showing that Bush won handily, defeating Republican Anthony Rogers. She defeated Lacy Clay, the longtime Democratic incumbent, in a primary earlier this year.

Cori Bush

BDS was not a notable issue in the Bush-Clay race, which hinged on the divide between progressive and establishment politics. Bush is a racial justice activist who was backed by progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Clay, a more centrist Democrat who had succeeded his father in the seat, had attempted to use Bush’s BDS support against her late in the campaign, highlighting it in a mailer.

Omar was declared the victor in her Minnesota congressional district, showing her staying power despite accusations of anti-Semitism. Last year, Omar drew condemnation from both sides of the aisle for suggesting that Jews pay politicians to be pro-Israel. She apologized for the comment but has continued to be a target of criticism from Democrats.

In August, Omar fended off a well-funded primary challenger, Antone Melton-Meaux, who made attacking her Israel comments a key part of his campaign.

She and Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress, are both members of the “Squad,” a group of four progressive freshman congresswomen.

Frankel beats Loomer in Florida race that encapsulated a Jewish culture war

(JTA) – Lois Frankel won reelection in her South Florida House district, fending off a challenge by the right-wing self-described “Islamophobe” Laura Loomer. The Associated Press called the race in the state’s 21st district shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. The race pitted two Jews at different poles of the socio-political culture wars against each other – a moderate Democrat in Frankel and a far-right agitator in Loomer, who plays on her Jewish identity in her adamantly anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Lois Frankel, D-Fla
(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

“We’re putting the Jews on trial here in District 21,” Loomer told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in September. “They have a choice between a Republican Jew who is going to advocate for their survival in their best interests, or they can stand with self-hating Jew Lois Frankel, who is doing the bidding for the jihadists in the Democrat Party who are just literally walking Jews to the gas chamber.”

Loomer, who has been banned from platforms such as Twitter for her rhetoric, was supported by the Trump campaign. President Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara campaigned for Loomer in Florida in the fall.

A Jewish Democrat helms Fox News’ ‘decision desk” – and infuriates Trump

By Gabe Friedman (JTA) Fox’s call came so early, in fact, that the network’s anchors seemed surprised. President Trump was reportedly furious with his favorite network, and he criticized the decision in an early morning White House appearance, specifically dismissing “the gentleman who called it.”

That gentleman was Arnon Mishkin – a Jewish registered Democrat from New York who is the leader and face of the Fox numbers team. Mishkin called that Arizona would go blue at around 11:30 p.m. Eastern time. At around 12:30 a.m., he appeared on air, and Fox host Bret Baier pushed him to declare that he was “100%” certain about his call.

“Absolutely. We made it basically after a half hour of debating ‘is it time?’” Mishkin said.

Arnon Mishkin

The call injected life back into the Biden campaign, which was reeling as it watched tallies in swing states such as Ohio and Florida grow insurmountable Trump leads. Other networks would call Arizona for Biden hours later. (Some have not yet, and Trump’s campaign is arguing he can still prevail there.)

Mishkin, 65, would seem an unlikely election analyst for the news network that has increasingly been associated with the Republican Party. A registered Democrat, both his parents were Holocaust survivors, as he detailed in a speech to his Upper West Side synagogue B’nai Jeshurun in 2001.

His father was the physics and engineering professor Eli Mishkin, whose obituary said he was the first person to receive a doctorate from the Israel Institute of Technology. His mother Esther volunteered at YIVO, the institute for Jewish research that preserves European Jewish history.

Tuesday night wasn’t the first time Mishkin angered Republican politicians tracking election night results. In 2012, after he called that Ohio would go for Barack Obama, Fox analyst Karl Rove disputed the claim. That prompted host Megyn Kelly to dramatically walk off set and into the room where Mishkin and his colleagues were at work. Mishkin said on camera that he was “quite comfortable” with his call. Obama would win Ohio.

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