A recent poll conducted by the Arab American Institute suggests that former President Donald Trump is the preferred choice for president among registered Arab American voters, holding a slight lead over Vice President Kamala Harris with 42 percent to 41 percent. Among likely voters, Trump’s lead expands to 46 percent against Harris’s 42 percent. The poll also indicates that 46 percent favor Republicans to control the next Congress, as opposed to 43 percent who prefer Democrats to control Congress in 2025.
These results mark a significant shift from 2020, where 59 percent of Arab Americans planned to vote for Democrat Joe Biden, with only 35 percent intending to support Trump.
The shift in preferences seems to stem from dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s handling of the economy and the conflict in Gaza, which are identified as the top two concerns for Arab American voters. Notably, in 2020, the primary issue for Arab Americans was “race relations in the U.S. today.”
The changing political allegiances within the Arab-American voting community could have repercussions for the upcoming presidential election in Michigan, a state with a notable Arab-speaking population clustered in the suburbs of Detroit.
