Partisan poll says Jews still Democrats

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A poll for the National Jewish Democratic Council released Monday showed likely Jewish voters favor John F. Kerry for president over George W. Bush.

The Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll has Kerry leading Bush 75 percent to 22 percent among the 817 likely voters surveyed July 26-28.

The survey results, NJDC Executive Director Ira Forman said, show that "after four years of President Bush, Karl Rove, and various GOP operatives spending vast resources... in their effort to target the Jewish vote, they've clearly failed." American Jewish support for Kerry "is extremely solid."

"Fully 78 percent of Kerry supporters indicated that there is 'no chance' that they will vote for President Bush, while only 52 percent of Bush supporters are solid in their support," the NJDC said.

The preference for Kerry among American Jews identified in the poll is strikingly similar to the breakdown of the Jewish vote in 2000, when former Vice President Al Gore won 76 percent of the vote to George W. Bush's 21 percent.

"President Bush is deeply unpopular among American Jews," the group said. "A stunning 73 percent see him unfavorably," while Kerry is, "seen as favorable by 59 percent of the respondents." The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.