The New Jews of U.S. Politics
With more Republicans than ever
February 22, 2010
Richard Blumenthal announcing his Senate candidacy last month.(Douglas Healey/Getty Images)
The Forward’s list of the 10 Jewish U.S. politicians best poised to make a big jump in 2010 is a fun read, partly because you get to learn about a whole new group of people (the only member of the list I had heard of is soon-to-be Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D-Connecticut]).
Of these top 10, four are Republicans: an oddly high number, given that, currently, Jews go for the Democratic presidential candidate roughly 3-to-1, and that, of the 13 Jewish U.S. senators, there are zero Republicans (unless you count Joe Lieberman, which maybe you should). Is this strong GOP showing a fluke? Or a harbinger?
Oh, also, none other than Alaska may see a Jew in high office: Republican state representative Jay Ramras, who built the Fairbanks synagogue, is running for lieutenant governor up there. There are worse breeding grounds for influential Republican politicians, you know.
Top 10 U.S. Jewish Politicians [Forward/Haaretz]
Earlier: Meet the Likely Next Jewish Senator
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
