The
demographic breakdown of recent elections is interesting to look at. The "other" column was basically non-existent in this race, and the column that I found most significant in this election was first time voters. Also, it seems like Catholics are increasingly voting more with liberal candidates. I know that the NY Times doesn't track Muslim voters in these, but I'm curious as to see who they voted for. The Jewish vote is consistently liberal leaning (no surprise considering many live in NY, NJ, CA and the blue counties in FL) and according to Wikipedia there are
5.3 million adults in the American Jewish population.
Although the Muslim population is not as large, there have been many efforts within recent years to drive participation at the polls (especially with issues such as Bosnia, Israel/Palestine, Iraq, etc. touching close to home for many). I'm guessing that this year, however, many Muslim voters voted for Obama. Despite the Islamophobia perpetuated by both campaigns, the Democrats simply divorced Obama from Muslim voters, while Republican sentiment was more driven by racism and bigotry (not to say that all Republican's believe this - just that their party has become a safe-harbor for it and does not do enough to denounce it).
The Muslim population isn't as large, the figures I keep getting quoted are "2.35 million (0.6% of the total population) [and s]ome sources mention estimates as high as 6-7 million" [
Source]. However, these numbers include children, have percentages of naturalized citizenship that are difficult to find numbers on and it is also difficult to really see how many are registered to vote and voting.
My parents voted for Gore in 2000 (a proud and sentimental election for them because it was the first time they had voted, although they had become naturalized citizens a few years prior). As someone who has been in the US on and off since 1983, my father is well accustomed with American politics. Although we lived in one of the most red states in the country, Oklahoma, we have typically embraced liberal candidates on the basis of choice, social reforms, educated candidates and foreign policy. One of the interesting points amongst Muslim voters in 2000 was that Gore's running-mate, Joe Liebermann, is Jewish. I always felt that it was a myopic point, but many Muslim voters made a vote almost solely on the emotional ideological stance of Israel/Palestine (this was never an issue in our household - I think we have a more sophisticated view on the issue of Israel/Palestine and furthermore, it wasn't an issue of tolerance for us - acceptance was easy when your father has a degree from Brandeis and your best friend is Jewish). Of course, the ensuing aftermath of 9/11, Iraq and beyond, led to bigger issues coming up to the forefront, namely national security and foreign policy. I feel that this crowd of voters has shifted entirely to the blue side of aisle now however.
