Santorum’s Big Wins Tonight: Driving American Jews Away in Droves

Washington, DC: Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s significant wins tonight—dramatically defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in contests in Minnesota and Missouri—posed a dual set-back, both to Romney’s hopes and to the GOP’s ongoing quest to curry favor among American Jews.

National Jewish Democratic Council President and CEO David A. Harris commented, “Tonight’s huge wins by anti-choice extremist Rick Santorum—on top of his initial win in Iowa—will help drive away the overwhelmingly pro-choice American Jewish community in droves, reminding them just how extreme today’s GOP has become. This far-right candidate, who reminded us recently that ’we always need a Jesus candidate,’ is profoundly divisive on social issues and offensively anti-gay. At every turn and with every utterance, he reminds American Jews of the vast chasm separating themselves from today’s Republican Party.”

Background: Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) prides himself on being one of the most anti-choice, socially extreme members of the GOP when it comes to women’s rights, gay rights, the separation of church and state, and denying science. [The Forward, January 3, 2012] Further, while Santorum often touts his record of support for Israel, he had the poor judgment to express support for Ron Paul—the anti-Israel candidate in the GOP race—should he receive the Republican Party’s nomination. [NJDC, December 29, 2011] The last time Santorum was on a ballot, Pennsylvania’s Jews rejected him and his extreme positions by a lopsided 22/78 percent vote margin in favor of his challenger, then-State Treasurer Bob Casey (D-PA). [CNN 2006 Exit Poll Results] Santorum is just too extreme to represent the values of most American Jews. [NJDC, June 27, 2011]