Israelis prefer Romney (45%) to Obama (29%) for president, poll finds
Among Israeli right-wingers, challenger gets 58%; on the Israeli center-left, president gets 46%
If the US presidential elections were being decided by Israeli voters, Mitt Romney would be the clear winner.
A poll released Thursday found that 45% of Israelis would hypothetically vote for Romney, while 29% would choose Obama, and 26% don’t have a preference or don’t care.
The survey, conducted on Tuesday, interviewed 400 Israeli adults.
Among Israeli right-wingers — defined by the pollster as likely Likud, Yisrael Beytenu, and Shas voters, as well as Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews — 58% would vote for Romney, 19% for Obama and 23% did not express a preference.
Among Israelis from the center-left bloc — those who intend to vote for the Labor Party, Kadima, Yesh Atid, Meretz, or Atzmaut in Israel’s January elections — 35% would vote for Romney, 46% for Obama and 19% did not express a preference.
Among Israelis who have not yet decided on their Israeli political preferences, 45% would vote for Romney, 26% for Obama and 29% did not express a preference.
The research, conducted by Smith Consulting on behalf of Israel Radio, has a margin of error of 4.9%. The poll was mainly focused on Israeli electoral inclinations ahead of the January 22, 2013 general elections here, with the US election questions tagged on at the end.
In its questions on Israel, the survey confirmed a likely victory for Benjamin Netanyahu at the head of a Likud-Yisrael Beytenu coalition, with Labor’s Shelly Yachimovich the most popular of the many potential alternate candidates for prime minister. The poll did not include surveys about the possible breakaway Likud minister Moshe Kahlon.
