GOP Woos Jewish Voters in Key Battleground States

Republicans are working in key battleground states to skim off a small but significant amount of the Jewish vote from President Barack Obama. The Republican Jewish Coalition is focusing its efforts in South Florida, Ohio, and Nevada, The New York Times reports.

The group, backed by Sheldon Adelson, is spending $6.5 million on billboards, television ads, and voter lists to reach voters who generally go Democratic. Exit polls in 2008 showed Obama getting 78 percent of the Jewish vote, the Times reported.

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The group has billboard ads up along the Florida Turnpike and Interstate 95 with the message, “Obama . . . Oy Vey!!” The ads then ask, “Had enough?” They are also running television ads featuring former Obama supporters expressing concern about Israel.

A recent Gallup poll showed Obama getting the support of about 70 percent of the Jewish vote and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney getting 25 percent.

“Sixty-nine percent still shows that President Obama has real trouble in the Jewish community, and it hints at the challenges he is facing among a reliable Democratic constituency,” Matthew Brooks, the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, told the Times. “It is a significant drop,” Mr. Brooks added. “And keep in mind, it is taken at the height of all the negative press and all the challenges Romney has been facing.”