The American Jewish Committee (AJC)

Research Institute for New Americans (RINA)

Presidential Elections 2004: Russian Voters

By Dr. Sam Kliger

Russian Voters on Domestic and International Politics

Against the background of the 2004 presidential elections, the American Jewish Committee asked the Research Institute for New Americans to conduct a study on political opinions of Russian Jews who became U. S. citizens by the time of interview. The survey was conducted in New York metro area during the period from July 20, 2004 to August 25, 2004; a total of 789 respondents were interviewed over the phone, in the Russian language, by specially trained personnel. In addition, on November 2, 2004, the first ever exit poll of Russian-speaking immigrants was conducted in 4 locations (Brooklyn, Queens, New Jersey, and Philadelphia); a total number of respondents was 802. Below are the key findings.

Key Findings

• On average, seventy seven percent of the Russian Jews voted for Bush, while twenty two percent for Kerry, with about one percent for no one.
  
• A considerable segment of the surveyed population (37%) either does not understand of or is not sure about American common political continuum of liberal-conservative scale. Nevertheless, 18% position themselves on the “liberal” side of the spectrum, 24% place themselves at the “conservative” edge, with 22% seeing themselves as “moderate”.
  
• Overwhelming majority of 84% approve of the way that the United States government is handling the campaign against terrorism, with only 9% disapproving. The approval rate of the war in Iraq is also high – 55% approve, 27% disapprove, and 18% are not sure.
  
  
• 73% of Russian American Jews in New York are willing to give up some of their personal freedoms in order to make the country safe from possible terrorist attacks.
  
• On economy, Russian Jews are split: 38% said they approve of the way the current administration is handling the economy, while 24% disapprove, and 38% are not sure.
  
• On domestic issues: 77% favor the death penalty for persons convicted of murder, 66% think that abortions should be legal under any circumstances, and 81% are in favor of an amendment to the United Sates Constitution that defines marriage as a union only between a man and a woman and makes same-sex marriages unconstitutional.

Presidential Election 2004: Russian Voters (PDF)  - November 2004 - (English)

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