Historic change in the US, Muslim and Arab voters abandon the Democrats

In a historic shift, Muslim and Arab voters ended their 20-year allegiance to the Democratic Party, splitting votes between President-elect Donald Trump and third-party candidates in Tuesday's US presidential election.

The distancing, fueled by anger over President Biden's administration's handling of the war in Gaza, helped Republican Trump win key battleground states, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House.

Less than half of Muslim Americans who voted supported Democrat Harris, according to a poll of more than 1,000 voters conducted by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Most voted for Mr. Trump or a third candidate, said Robert McCaw, director of government affairs at CAIR.

"This is the first time in more than 20 years that the Muslim community has been divided between three candidates," Mr. McCaw said in an interview with VOA. Findings from the survey will be released on Thursday.

The shift in the Muslim vote resonated with Arab-American voters, who for more than two decades had backed Democratic presidential candidates by a 2-to-1 ratio, said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.

"In this election, the Gaza issue caused a lot of resentment among demographic groups of the community, which I didn't expect to have this degree of impact," Mr. Zogby told VOA. "The events of Gaza affected them very deeply."

According to estimates, there are about 3.7 million Arab-Americans living in the United States, most of whom are of the Christian faith, and about the same figure is believed to be for Muslim Americans.

The voter revolt was strongest in Michigan's Arab strongholds of Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck. In Dearborn, where more than 55% of residents are of Middle Eastern descent, Republican Trump won more than 42% of the vote, compared to 30% four years ago. Democrat Harris received just 36% from a community that gave President Joe Biden nearly 70% of the vote.

In Hamtramck, the first Muslim-majority city in the United States, Mr. Trump took 43% of the vote, up from just 13% in 2020. While Ms. Harris secured 46% of the vote, compared to 85% for Mr. Biden four years ago seen. Green Party candidate Jill Stein, a strong critic of Israel's war in Gaza, received less than 20% of the vote in both cities./VOA