NOM BLOG

Orthodox Union Leader: Weprin Lost NY-9 Because of SSM, Not Other Issues

 

Howie Beigelman, the director of state affairs at the Orthodox Union, points out in the New York Daily News that other candidates who did not vote to redefine marriage continue to receive Orthodox support:

Weprin lost Orthodox support not because he was a Democrat, but because Orthodox Jews were angry at him for his yes vote on same sex marriage - and, even worse, for a painfully contorted explanation of the vote that disparaged Orthodox rabbis.

In other words, [Orthodox Jews] voted policy and principle, not party. When the candidates - in Simanowitz and Goldfeder - had the right policies, they won Orthodox votes.

Orthodox Jews aren't lockstep with any one party. They are the most coveted electoral prize of all: engaged, interested and informed independent voters who care about issues. To earn their votes, both parties ought move the policy issues their voters care about. That's the enduring lesson of NY-9.

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