Neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu: This is the big winner from Benny Gantz's withdrawal

An internal poll reveals that 24.2% of Gantz's voters will move to Ofer Winter after his withdrawal, a potential addition of about 10,000 votes. Nearly a third of voters are still undecided.

An internal poll published in Ma'ariv reveals that 24.2% of Benny Gantz's voters may move to Ofer Winter following Gantz's withdrawal from the 2026 election race. This represents a potential addition of about 10,000 votes, estimated at roughly a quarter of a mandate. For Winter's party, which polls between four and five mandates and near the electoral threshold, this could be crucial. However, nearly a third of Blue and White voters have not yet chosen an alternative party, and the vote distribution is not final. The poll was conducted among 800 respondents from the Jewish population. Gantz announced his withdrawal yesterday, on the eve of voting among soldiers, after Blue and White struggled to pass the electoral threshold. The article notes that the withdrawal may actually strengthen Winter and complicate the Likud campaign calculations.