Democrats' internal review said to find Kamala Harris's stance on Gaza cost her votes in 2024

[womanofthehills]

24. You-Gov poll, internal poll & exit

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- A January 2025 poll by YouGov, commissioned by the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project, surveyed voters nationwide and found that among those who supported Joe Biden in 2020 but did not vote for Harris in 2024 (or stayed home), 29% cited "ending Israel's violence in Gaza" as the top issue influencing their decision. This ranked higher than the economy (24%) or immigration (11%). The poll highlighted this as a significant factor in reduced Democratic turnout, especially in swing states like Michigan, where Harris underperformed compared to Biden's 2020 margins.



- The Democratic National Committee's (DNC) internal "autopsy" report on the 2024 election, as reported in February 2026, concluded that the Biden-Harris administration's pro-Israel stance on Gaza was a "net-negative" for the campaign. Based on the party's own data, it cost Harris votes, particularly among younger and progressive voters, leading to lower support in key battleground states. This review was not made public, but details were shared with pro-Palestinian groups like IMEU.

- Exit polls and post-election analyses, such as those from CNN, The Washington Post, and Fox News, showed Harris winning young voters (ages 18-29) by only 11 points in 2024, compared to Biden's 24-point margin in 2020—a 13-point shift toward Trump. In Michigan cities with large Arab American populations like Dearborn, Harris received about 22,000 fewer votes than Biden did in 2020, with some analyses attributing this directly to frustration over Gaza policy.

These findings suggest that while Gaza was not the sole reason for Harris's defeat, it played a measurable role in eroding support from key Democratic constituencies.