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Trump Finds Support Among Arab-Americans

WASHINGTON โ€“ A new survey has found a considerable number of Arab-American Muslims say they will vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, despite his controversial anti-Muslim comments.

โ€œ(But) there are people who are culturally Republican and simply cannot bring themselves to vote for a Democrat,โ€ Jim Zogby, co-founder and president of the Arab American Institute, which commissioned the poll, told USA Today on Monday, October 24.

The recent Zogby Analytics survey said 12% of Arab-American Muslims said theyโ€™d vote for the GOP nominee.

Sixty-seven percent said theyโ€™d vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trumpโ€™s support was higher among Arab-American Catholics (20% for him and 63% for Clinton) and Protestants and other Christians (48% for him and 42% for Clinton), according to the survey of 502 Arab Americans, scheduled for release Tuesday.

Though Zogby expected the conflict in the Middle East to affect the vote, the Trump-Clinton divide among Arab-American Catholics is roughly the same as it is among Arab-American Muslims.

โ€œYou might expect that a candidate who is anti-Muslim might generate some support among Christians,โ€ Zogby said.

โ€œThat turned out not to be the case.โ€

Overall, 60% of likely Arab-American voters said they back Clinton. They most often cited their support for Clintonโ€™s domestic policies and their opposition to Trump.

The 26% who said theyโ€™re for Trump tended to cite their opposition to Clinton and party affiliation. Jobs and the economy were the top concerns among those surveyed.

The survey, conducted Oct. 4-12, has a margin of error of +/-4.5 percentage points.

The most recent American Community Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau estimated the Arab-American population at close to 2 million, though the Arab American Institute says itโ€™s much higher, at 3.7 million.

Among those surveyed, 91% said theyโ€™re likely to vote on November 8.