New exit polling suggests Kamala Harris's decision to choose Minnesota's Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate may have cost her critical Jewish support in key battleground states.
The Honan Strategy Group survey reveals Harris could have secured a commanding 53-38% lead among Pennsylvania's Jewish voters with Shapiro on the ticket. Instead, the Harris-Walz campaign managed only a narrow 48-41% margin.
Shapiro, who earned widespread praise for his strong response to the October 7 Hamas attack and vocal opposition to anti-Israel campus protests, might have helped counter criticism that Harris was weak on antisemitism. The Pennsylvania governor had ordered flags lowered to half-staff and delivered passionate speeches in synagogues following the attack.
Trump's campaign seized on Harris passing over Shapiro, suggesting she feared losing Muslim voters in swing states like Michigan amid the Gaza conflict.
While Shapiro defended Harris against antisemitism accusations, the campaign struggled to shake the perception.
"Numbers don't lie,"* one Democratic strategist noted. *"This could have been the difference in Pennsylvania."
Jewish Breaking News contributed to this article.