CAIRO — Two weeks before the crucial mid-term congress elections, Arab and Muslim voters are increasingly tilting towards Democrats over dissatisfaction with the Bush administration’s foreign policy, especially in war-torn Iraq.
"There’s clearly a trend in the Democratic direction and that shows up not only in head to head races, but also in the issues," James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute (AAI) said in a press release sent to IslamOnline.net.
The latest AAI poll found that Democrats are the favored candidates for Arab American voters in four crucial states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.
In Michigan, where Arabs make up to 5 percent of voters, 54 and 61 percent of Arab voters back Democratic candidates the Senate and Governors seats respectively, compared to only 32 and 29 for the Republicans.
The majority of the Arab voters in Ohio (53 – 60 percent) will also vote for the Democrats, compared to only 27 and 21 percent of Republicans.
The AAI poll found Democrats also the favored candidates for 52 and 45 percent of Arab voters in Florida, where Arabs make up 2 percent of voters, compared to only 24 and 39 percent for the Republicans.
In Pennsylvania, a sweeping majority of Arab voters (67 percent) will cast ballot for the Democrats compared to only 22 percent for the Republicans.
A survey announced earlier this week showed that American Muslims will vote in the Democrats’ favor on November 7.
The poll, conducted by Genesis Research Associates in August, found that 42 percent of Muslim voters will vote Democrat.
Only 17 percent of Muslim voters said they would vote for the Republicans.
American Muslims have already set up voter registration booths in mosques across the country to encourage fellow Muslim voters to sign up for the mid-term elections.
They have also established a website to enable Muslim voters to register online.
There are over two million registered Muslim voters in the United States.
All 435 House seats, 34 of 100 Senate seats and 36 governorships are up for grasp in the November elections.
Troubled Republicans
The November elections are crucial in deciding which of the Republicans or the Democrats would control Congress during President George W. Bush’s final two years in office.
"There is no question Republicans are in trouble. There is also no question a lot of races remain competitive," pollster John Zogby said.
"But it’s a big hill for Republicans to climb and it’s getting very late."
According to a Reuters/Zogby poll released Thursday some 44 percent of voters will vote for the Democrats on November 7, compared to 33 percent for the Republicans.
The poll also found that independents voters are favoring Democrats by 12 points.
Democrats are favored to do a better job on nine of 13 issues surveyed, including ethics, foreign policy and immigration.
Republicans have an 8-point edge on battling terrorism and smaller leads on taxes and stopping the global spread of nuclear weapons.
Analysts expect Democrats to wrestle control of the House of Representatives and make significant gains in the Senate.
Iraq
The Reuters/Zogby poll found that the public dissatisfaction with the Iraq war, Bush’s performance and the country’s direction were playing into the hands of the Democrats.
It also found that 50 percent of likely voters believe US troops should be pulled out of Iraq by the end of next year, including 15 percent who favor an immediate withdrawal and 20 percent who want out by mid-2007.
The survey found that 41 percent agree with the statement that troops should remain "until the situation is stable."
Bush has ruled out any US withdrawal from Iraq as long as he remained in the White House.
He continues to resist calls for a withdrawal timetable, arguing this would mean a defeat against "terrorists" and could lead to "atrocities" on American soil.
Bush insisted Wednesday that the US was "winning" the war in Iraq.
The Reuters/Zogby survey found that 57 percent believe the Iraq war is not worth the loss of lives, up from 53 percent.
Eight US troops were killed in Iraq Wednesday bringing the US death toll for October alone to 99.
At least 2,805 American servicemen have now been killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.
© IslamOnline.net, October 27, 2006.
