16 August 2024: Roughly one-third of Democratic Party voters in the US states of Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania have said they are more likely to vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election if she were to agree to stop sending arms to Israel, according to a new poll.
The survey conducted by YouGov and the Institute for Middle East Understanding polled voters on whether they would be “more likely” or “less likely” to vote for Harris if one of the two scenarios took place: if a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was achieved before the November election or Kamala Harris agreed to an arms embargo on Israel.
In Pennsylvania, 34 percent of voters were more likely to vote for Harris if she agreed to the arms embargo, while 44 percent were more likely to vote for her if Biden achieved a ceasefire.
In Georgia, an arms embargo would make 39 percent of voters more likely to vote for Harris, and a ceasefire would similarly make 44 percent of voters more likely to choose the vice president.
Arizona showed similar numbers, with 35 percent of voters more inclined to choose Harris if she agreed to an arms embargo on Israel, while 41 percent of voters would do so if Biden achieved a ceasefire in Gaza.
The new poll comes ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), taking place from 19-22 August 19 in Chicago, where leaders of the Democratic Party will convene and set the political party’s policy agenda for the next several years. There, they will also select Kamala Harris as the official Democratic nominee to face off against former President Donald Trump in November.
Harris became the frontrunner for the Democratic ticket after Biden dropped out of the race in late July.
Outside of the DNC, a massive pro-Palestinian protest is being planned with 100,000 expected to be in attendance.
Israel’s war on Gaza has been taking place for more than 10 months and has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, half of whom are women and children. The war has become a flashpoint for the Democratic Party, as the Biden administration has pledged support for Israel throughout the war despite Israeli forces committing massacres against Palestinian civilians on a repeated basis.
Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place throughout major US cities and have for months called on the US to pressure Israel to end the war, and called on Washington to halt weapons shipments to the country over the massive civilian toll.
Harris’ aides have rejected any notion of agreeing to an arms embargo after several activists with the “Uncommitted campaign” claimed the vice president was open to a meeting with them to discuss the issue.
