Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein appreciates the “strong support” she’s getting from Muslim voters, especially in battleground states.
Jill Stein told Newsweek she cherishes the traction she’s gaining among Muslim American voters—support that could damage Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
Recent polls show Stein ahead of Harris among Muslim voters in several battleground states, including Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, giving her Green Party a potentially pivotal role in swinging the election away from Harris in favor of former President Donald Trump.
“We’re grateful for the strong support of Muslim voters who share with us the determination to end genocide in Gaza, and the injustice faced by our Muslim friends”, Stein told Newsweek in a statement. “We urge all people of conscience to resist the propaganda telling you to hold your nose and vote for genocide. If you vote for genocide, you are actively consenting to it and enabling it. Don’t let them talk you out of your humanity.”
Polls show Stein has no chance of rivaling Harris, the Democratic nominee, or Trump, the Republican nominee, nationally. As of Friday, Harris had 48.1 percent of likely voters, compared to 46 percent for Trump and just 1 percent for Stein, according to RealClearPolitics data.
But her stance on Gaza has helped her among Muslim voters. Stein and Harris are essentially tied nationwide at 29 percent—with Trump at 11.2 percent and Cornel West at 4.2 percent. Another 16.5 percent of Muslim Americans remain undecided, while nearly 9 percent said they don’t plan to vote, according to the poll by Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Stein, 74, characterized stopping Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, where local authorities say more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping a further 250, as the “greatest moral imperative of our time.”
“Half a million Palestinian lives hang in the balance from starvation imposed by Israel, according to the UN”, Stein said. “Now polio and cholera are intensifying the threat.”
Harris campaign national security spokeswoman Morgan Finkelstein previously referred Newsweek to the vice president’s remarks during the Sept. 10 debate against Trump when asked for a response to concerns shared by Muslim voters.
Harris said Israel had a right to defend itself following the October 7 attacks, but acknowledged that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
“What we know is that this war must end”, Harris added.
She also pledged to continue working “around the clock” on a ceasefire deal, as well as to “chart a course” for a two-state solution.
