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Iran war support tests Democratic loyalties in Great Neck

The Wall Street Journal's Michelle Hackman returns to her Long Island community to examine how Middle East policy is shaping midterm choices.

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The Wall Street Journal Story of October 30, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of The Wall Street Journal's most watched videos since yesterday, with 92,808 views.

Why the Iran War Is So Important to Trump’s Midterms | WSJ

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

1:47Daniel Hackman recalls leaving Tehran before the revolution and his hope of revisiting his childhood city.
4:23Hackman's cousin connects Persian Jewish community identity with her views on Iran's government.
6:03Democrats describe divisions over Middle East policy, while one voter puts affordability ahead of foreign affairs.
9:44Mehran Hakimian describes local Persian Jewish voters moving from Democratic to Republican candidates.
10:45The report examines how those choices affect Suozzi's congressional district and New York's governor election.
12:08Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman expresses firm support for Trump's Iran policies.

Michelle Hackman's father left Tehran in 1978. In The Wall Street Journal's report from Great Neck, New York, he recalls the uncertainty before Iran's revolution and a hope he still holds: returning to visit his childhood city.

That family history helps explain the political question at the center of Hackman's hometown reporting. The Journal describes strong support for the Iran war among members of Great Neck's Persian Jewish community, contrasting it with opposition among most Americans, including many Iranian Americans and Jewish Americans.

Hackman makes her personal connections explicit, interviewing her father in Manhattan's Diamond District, visiting her cousin during holiday preparations and speaking with a member of her synagogue. Her cousin, Jamie Hackman-Moghadam, expresses longstanding support for war against Iran. Synagogue member Mehran Hakimian describes Persian Jewish voters shifting their allegiances from Democratic to Republican candidates.

At a Democratic gathering in nearby Port Washington, the political picture is different. State party chair Jay S. Jacobs sums up the divisions over Middle East policy: "I have angry people on both sides." Democratic voter Virginia Donovan places another concern ahead of foreign policy: "I think the local issues, particularly affordability, are much higher on my list."

The report connects those competing priorities to Representative Tom Suozzi's positioning in New York's 3rd Congressional District and the governor's campaign. It drew roughly 93,000 views since yesterday, offering a local electoral perspective distinct from the Journal's reporting aboard an American aircraft carrier.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County's executive, gives Hackman an unequivocal answer about the president's Iran policy: "I trust President Trump and what he's done so far."

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