Gantz announces he will continue campaign, despite polling below electoral threshold

Benny Gantz's Blue and White party launched a new election campaign on Saturday ahead of the October 27 elections, despite recent polls showing that the party is failing to cross the electoral threshold.The campaign, launched under the slogan "Choose unity, save the country," seeks to appeal to voters who identify with neither of the two political blocs.Benny Gantz's Blue and White party launched a new election campaign on October 10, 2026. (credit: Courtesy)The announcement comes as no recent poll has shown Gantz's party crossing the electoral threshold."We are heading for disaster," warned Gantz. "We must stop and save the country. Politicians from both blocs oppose the unity that I am promoting with all my heart. They want a decisive victory. The divisions serve their political interests. They are leading Israel toward another election, toward narrow governments that will tear us apart from within and cause our enemies to attack us again."I have decided not to surrender to our enemies," he continued. "To fight our enemies, I must fight for unity among us, and that is why I am staying in the race until the end."Gantz: I am not 'wasting votes,' don't need 'permission to continue running'"I do not belong to either bloc. Anyone who claims I am wasting votes is lying and is afraid. Anyone who votes for me is voting for unity, not for the blocs. At least six mandates' worth of voters want to vote for us. To you, I say: You are not alone. Vote, and we will save the country," he added.Gantz also addressed his party's poor polling numbers in an interview with Yinon Magal and Ben Caspit on 103FM radio on Tuesday, insisting he didn't need anyone's permission to remain in the race."I do not need anyone's permission to continue running," he said. "It is my democratic right and my duty to tell the people what they need. If you see a Blue and White ballot headed by Benny Gantz, it means I am crossing the electoral threshold."Gantz 'absolutely certain' he will cross electoral threshold by 'wide margin'"I conduct polls involving tens of thousands of people, and I know what to do," he added. "If you see the ballot, know that my trust in the public, and the public's trust in me, are important to me. That is why I promise that if my ballot is in the polling station on the 27th of this month, it means I am absolutely certain I will cross the threshold by a wide margin."I have been below the electoral threshold before and ended up with eight seats. If presenting the State of Israel with what it truly needs is called 'humiliating myself,' then I am prepared to humiliate myself," Gantz concluded.