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Can a Jew win the Democratic presidential nomination?

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by Merrill Matthews, opinion contributor - 05/12/26 7:30 AM ET

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by Merrill Matthews, opinion contributor - 05/12/26 7:30 AM ET

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Former U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel speaks to voters as he participates in the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “On the Road” series on Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Abbeville, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

It’s the question on many people’s minds, though it may not be on their lips. To utter it out loud would be to imply something about the Democratic Party that most people — including many Democrats — don’t want to admit. Can a Jew win the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination?

It’s an important question because the Democratic presidential primary may be a very crowded race. As it stands, four of the potential candidates are Jewish, and two — former Chicago mayor and Rep. Rahm Emanuel and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — could be formidable candidates. A third, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, is also reportedly considering a run. And there may be more.

If a Jew cannot win the nomination, Democrats are limiting their ability to put forth the best possible general-election candidate.

Normally, both Emanuel and Shapiro would be odds-on favorites. Emanuel was a three-term congressman, chief of staff to President Barack Obama, mayor of Chicago, and U.S. ambassador to Japan. Plus, he’s very articulate, proposing public policy reforms and laying out a Democratic plan for victory. Importantly, he may be one of the best-connected Democrats in the country, with access to major donors and party leaders.

Shapiro also has an impressive background, having served as a Pennsylvania state representative, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, state attorney general and the current governor of a large swing state. Had Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024, chosen Shapiro to be her running mate, she might have won the Keystone State, and perhaps a few other swing states.

But the widespread suspicion is that Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) over Shapiro in part because Shapiro is a pro-Israel Jew, and that would have upset a lot of Democrats, especially the younger ones.

The Democratic Party’s growing resistance to Israel, including Jews who support it, is a recent development. Prior to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the prospect of a Jewish presidential candidate wouldn’t have raised Democratic eyebrows. Indeed, it didn’t in 2000, when the late Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) was the Democratic vice presidential candidate. But a lot has happened since then, and the changes are apparent in the polls.

In a recent Pew Research poll, 80 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents had an unfavorable view of Israel. That’s up from 69 percent last year, and 53 percent in 2022 — the year before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Only 41 percent of Republicans had an unfavorable view of Israel.

Pew adds that Democrats under age 50 are even more negative toward Israel, including 47 percent with a very unfavorable view, compared with 39 percent for older Democrats. And younger Democrats currently supply most of the drive and energy in the party.

Ironically, the Jewish vote leans strongly Democratic. After the most recent presidential election, the Jewish Democratic Council of America reported 78 percent of Jewish voters voted for Harris while only 22 percent supported President Trump.

Can Democrats depend on overwhelming Jewish support in 2028 if it becomes clear that a highly qualified candidate can’t win the presidential nomination just because he or she is a Jew?

Of course, many Democrats assert they can be critical of the state of Israel and its policies, especially relating to Palestinians, and not be antisemitic. That’s true, but it is also the tactic that antisemites use to rebuff charges of antisemitism. It seems that for many hard-left Democrats, being anti-Israel is just a more acceptable expression of being anti-Jew.

Democrats’ growing anti-Israel rhetoric and actions are why prominent attorney and lifelong Democrat Alan Dershowitz decided to leave the Democratic Party for the Republicans, writing in the Wall Street Journal, “The Democratic Party has become the most anti-Israel party in U.S. history.”

That anti-Israel bias will affect elections. “The question facing the Democratic primary electorate won’t be whether a candidate opposes Israel but how vehemently.” Wall Street Journal columnist Matthew Continetti notes.

The “anti-Israel doesn’t mean anti-Jew” mantra would be more persuasive if Democrats weren’t electing