How Harris lost the Muslim and Arab electorate

The ongoing genocide in Gaza has become a central issue for Muslim and Arab American voters in the 2024 presidential election, with a major impact on support for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. This electorate, estimated at more than a million voters, is particularly influential in key states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia. In Michigan, for example, Harris fell 22,000 votes short of Biden’s score in 2020, while Trump gained about 9,000 votes there. Part of the decline for Harris was due to support for third-party Green Party candidate Jill Stein, whose anti-Gaza war stance attracted Muslim and Arab voters.

A Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) poll found that 42% of Muslim voters supported Stein compared to 41% for Harris, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with Biden and Harris’ handling of the Gaza war. Additionally, the absence of pro-Palestinian voices at the Democratic National Convention and Harris’s support for Liz Cheney, seen as a controversial figure for her support of the invasion of Iraq, accentuated the feeling of betrayal. among this electorate.

For his part, Trump skillfully capitalized on this discontent, criticizing Harris for her alliance with Cheney and hammering out an anti-war narrative in response to the suffering caused by Israeli criminal bombings in Gaza and Lebanon. Faced with this disavowal of Harris in the Muslim and Arab community, the Democrats will have to reevaluate their position and their alliances if they hope to reconquer this electoral bloc crucial to the political future of the party.

The Muslim and Arab electorate’s disaffection for Kamala Harris reveals a deep unease with the Democratic Party’s foreign policies and strategic alliances. This disavowal could mark a turning point in the relationship between this community and the party, forcing Democrats to reassess their priorities and commitments if they wish to reconquer this crucial electorate in future elections.