A projection regarding Pennsylvania’s electoral votes is shown at Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump’s election night watch party in Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Updated at 7:45 Israel time.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — As the sun rises over the Holy Land, Israelis are closely watching the American elections to our West, and closely watching the threat by Iran’s Supreme Leader to launch a massive attack against us from our East.
While it’s too early to call the U.S. presidential race, nearly all of the exit polling data is pointing to a win for former President Donald J. Trump over current Vice President Kamala Harris.
At this hour, Trump is leading the national vote with 51.1% of the vote while Harris is drawing only 47.2%, according to the latest updates on the Real Clear Politics website.
Based on the states that they have won so far, Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, have won 248 Electoral College votes.
RealClearPolitics – Live Opinion, News, Analysis, Video and Polls
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have won 216 Electoral College votes.
To win the presidency, a candidate must win at least 270 Electoral College votes.
Fox News is also reporting that Republicans are going to regain control of the Senate.
Currently, the GOP has won 51 Senate seats, while Democrats have only won 43.
There are six seats still undecided, and Fox is projecting that the GOP is poised to pick up several of those, thus potentially strengthening their control of the Senate chamber.
Meanwhile, the battle to control the House of Representatives is too close to call.
Democrats are reportedly feeling bullish about their chances of seizing control of the House and Republicans are deeply worried about that prospect.
WHAT ARE THE EXIT POLLS SHOWING?
Several data points from the nationwide exit polls are catching my eye.
First, Trump is winning 81% of the Evangelical Christian vote, while Harris is only winning 17% of Evangelicals.
This is the exact percentage that Trump achieved in 2016 when he won the presidency.
In 2020, however, Trump only won 79% of Evangelicals.
That decline of two percentage points among some 60 million Evangelical voters very likely cost Trump that campaign to Joe Biden.
If the final vote count shows that Trump has regained those two points with Evangelicals, this alone could prove decisive for him re-entering the White House.
Second, voters who want to see the U.S. do more to support Israel are voting for Trump for president in massive numbers.
According to exit polls published by NBC News, 81% of voters who believe that U.S. support for Israel is “not strong enough” — and want the U.S. to do more to back Israel — are voting for Trump.
In contrast, Americans who believe that U.S. support for Israel is “too strong” are backing Harris in very large numbers.
Interestingly enough, roughly one-third of Americans (32%) say that U.S. support for Israel is “too strong,” while 31% say it is “not strong enough,” and 31% say it is “about right.”
Third, the majority of voters who view American foreign policy as one of the most important issues affecting their choice for president are voting for Trump.
Most Americans on Tuesday said the economy and illegal immigration were their top concerns, and voted decisively for Trump.
Those who said “abortion rights” were their top concern voted decisively for Harris.
Yet I found it interesting that 55% of Americans who said they are very concerned about foreign policy voted for Trump, while only 39% voted for Harris.
Stay tuned to ALL ISRAEL NEWS for regular election updates throughout the day.
