Ron DeSantis' stop in Israel highlights appeal to religious voters: Jewish and evangelical

WASHINGTON – The historic relationship between the U.S. and Israel will be Ron DeSantis' main topic when he visits Jerusalem this week, but the trip also touches on the Republican Party's appeal to two key groups.

Jewish and evangelical voters.

While Jewish voters remain mostly Democratic, Republicans have made inroads in recent elections and are looking to do more in 2024. The fate of Israel, a concern for many Jewish voters, is also a priority for evangelicals, long a large part of the Republican electoral base.

"Israel isn't only about the Jewish vote," said political analyst Stuart Rothenberg. "Some of Israel's strongest supporters are evangelical Christians."

The highest-profile part of a four-nation trade mission, DeSantis is also visiting Israel to speak at an event to mark the nation's 75th anniversary.

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“At a time of unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and Washington, Florida serves as a bridge between the American and Israeli people,” DeSantis said before the trip.

Indeed, the trip will allow DeSantis to highlight his bombastic pro-Israel approach to U.S. foreign policy, and U.S.-Israeli relations.  Over the years, DeSantis has blamed the Palestinians in their battle with the Israelis. During a November forum in Las Vegas, DeSantis said the West Bank "is not occupied territory, it is disputed territory. I don't care what the State Department says."

The GOP and Jewish voters  

Still, politics is in the air, and DeSantis is expected to announce a 2024 presidential bid shortly after the Florida Legislature adjourns next month.

In recent elections, Republicans have claimed an increasing share of the Jewish vote, which has a tradition of loyalty to the Democratic Party. 

Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, has put an emphasis on Jewish voters, though he has also had an up-and-down relationship with the community as a whole.

In his 2016 election, Trump carried only 24% of the Jewish vote while Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton carried 71%, according to exit polls.

Four years later, while some pollsters said they did not have a large enough sample, others reported that Trump increased his percentage of the Jewish vote to 30%, while President Joe Biden took 69%.

Among other issues, Republicans have hit Democrats over criticism of Israel. A recent Gallup poll found that, for the first time, American Democrats' views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have shifted to show more sympathy for Palestinians than the Israelis.

Democrats and Israel: American Democrats express more sympathy for Palestinians than Israelis for first time, poll finds

'Get their act together'

Still, Trump has protested what he regards as a lack of appreciation by Jewish voters for his pro-Israel policies.

In October, Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that "no President has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S."

The former president and current presidential candidate added that "Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel - Before it is too late!"

DeSantis, meanwhile, pledged in 2019 to be "the most pro-Israel governor in America."

Another audience: Evangelicals 

Evangelical voters have long backed Republicans and protection of Israel is a major issue for them, as a matter of religious belief and political outlook.

So DeSantis' trip is also a "double whammy" politically, Charles Kupchan, a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, said.

"It's the evangelicals and it's the more right-wing Jewish voters who attach a high salience to a candidate's position on Israel," he said.

After the 2020 election, the Pew Research Center reported that "more than eight-in-ten White evangelical Protestant voters who attend religious services frequently (85%) voted for Trump in the most recent election, as did 81% of those who attend less frequently."

A long line to Israel

DeSantis is the latest in a long line of American politicians who have traveled to Israel, either as lawmakers, potential presidential candidates, or both.

George W. Bush of Texas, the last Republican governor to win election to the presidency, visited Israel in late 1998.

Ten years later, while waiting for his Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama included Israel on a highly publicized world tour.

The parade has included DeSantis himself.

As a member of Congress in 2018, DeSantis and other lawmakers attended the dedication of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, relocated from Tel Aviv – a Trump-authorized move that DeSantis advocated for years.

DeSantis and Netanyahu

After winning election as governor, DeSantis returned to Israel in 2019. He gave a speech at the U.S.-Israel business summit and met with embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Now embroiled in civil unrest over his plan to change Israel's judiciary, Netanyahu will again meet with DeSantis. He told CBS News that is not endorsing any candidate and that he meets with U.S. lawmakers from both parties.

"I think it's important for Israel's bipartisan support in the United States," Netanyahu said. "I make a point of it."

DeSantis says West Bank is 'disputed territory,' not occupied territory.

The Florida governor made his statement about the West Bank and the State Department at a frequent stop for GOP politicians: A meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a group founded by the late GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. Trump and other presidential aspirants also spoke to the group at their November meeting.

During this trip to Israel, DeSantis will deliver an address for an event entitled "Celebrate the Faces of Israel."

The Israel stop comes in the middle of a four-nation trade mission that included Japan and South Korea. After Israel, DeSantis winds up his trip in the United Kingdom.

The purpose, he said is Florida business activity, not presidential politics.

DeSantis told reporters in Japan: "I'm not a candidate, so we'll see if and when that changes."