{
  "id": 17811826,
  "title": "After straying from Democrats in 2024, Arab Americans are coming home",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/after-straying-from-democrats-in-2024-arab-americans-are-coming-home-17811826",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-02T14:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2026/11/02/us-midterm-elections-arab-muslim-americans-gaza-democrats-republicans-donald-trump/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the recent midterm elections held across the United States, Arab Americans demonstrated a significant shift in their voting preferences, favoring Democratic candidates over their Republican counterparts by a wide margin of 59% to 26%. This dramatic change in voting patterns is the result of a series of events and factors that have deeply impacted the Arab American community over the past few decades.\n\nThe Arab American Institute and John Zogby Strategies have been continuously polling Arab-American voters since the early 2000s, and throughout this time, the community has consistently leaned Democratic, albeit by a small margin. However, the Iraq War and the repressive policies implemented during the George W. Bush administration significantly altered the attitudes of Arab Americans towards the two major parties. For over a decade and a half, Arab Americans voted for Democrats by a two-to-one ratio.\n\nIn 2024, President Joe Biden's administration's support for Israel's war on Gaza led to a shift in Arab American voters' sentiments. Many felt betrayed by the Democrats' involvement in the conflict, causing their support for the Democratic Party to plummet, while Republican numbers increased. Despite this shift, Democrats still maintained a slight advantage, but some Arab Americans cast their votes for third-party candidates or chose not to vote at all during the 2024 presidential election.\n\nThe recent poll reveals several factors that contributed to the recent turn towards the Democratic Party. Firstly, 82% of Arab Americans have personally experienced economic hardships due to rising costs in healthcare, utilities, groceries, and petrol prices. Additionally, 90% of the respondents stated that the ongoing war in Gaza remains crucial when deciding their presidential candidate for the 2028 election. A majority of Arab Americans have also faced discrimination due to their heritage, and many fear that this discrimination may worsen in the future.\n\nThe Trump administration's hostile actions against Abdul El-Sayed, an Arab-American Democratic senate candidate in Michigan, further fueled the flames of hate within the community. Moreover, Arab Americans share moderate views on cultural issues, but they are generally liberal when it comes to economic and governmental policies.\n\nAs the poll demonstrates, Arab Americans, like other ethnic immigrant communities, lean towards the Democratic Party on social and economic issues. However, their views on political ideology range from conservative (Maga Republican) to liberal (Democratic socialist). Only 18% of Arab Americans identify as right-leaning, while 47% describe themselves as left-leaning, and 31% consider themselves moderate.\n\nDespite the diverse demographic subgroups within the Arab American community, there is a notable convergence in their views. Concerns about the economic situation, the war in Gaza, and fear of discrimination due to anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate speech are shared across all subgroups. While sectarian and national conflicts continue to plague the Middle East, Arab Americans have coalesced around shared heritage and issues of mutual concern, serving as the cornerstone of community building.",
  "summary": "In this week’s midterm elections in the US, Arab Americans are expected to overwhelmingly vote for Democrats over Republicans running in the senate and congressional campaigns across the country. The actual margin is 59 per cent for Democrats versus just 26 per cent for Republicans. This dramatic swing back to the Democratic Party is just one of the findings of the most recent poll of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}