Donald Trump and the Catholic vote; this time

 

Trump boosted support among Catholic voters

Republican President-elect Donald Trump addresses supporters during his rally at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 6, after being elected the 47th president of the United States. (OSV News/Reuters/Brian Snyder)

Donald Trump performed better among Catholic voters in his election victory this year than he did four years ago in his loss to Joe Biden, according to the AP VoteCast survey of American voters.

Trump captured 54% of Catholic voters compared to 44% for Vice President Kamala Harris — an increase over 2020 that was notable in North Carolina, Florida and Texas, according to VoteCast.

In 2020, the Catholic electorate — one the biggest religious blocs in the nation — was almost evenly split, with 50% backing Trump and 49% favoring Biden, a practicing Catholic.

VoteCast, an exit survey of more than 120,000 voters, documented a racial divide among Catholic voters, similar to what was seen in the NCR Poll of Catholics in battleground states. About six in 10 white Catholics supported Trump, and about four in 10 supported Harris. By contrast, about six in 10 Latino Catholics supported Harris, and about four in 10 supported Trump.

Among religions, VoteCast found that Trump fared about the same against Harris as he did against Biden, winning the support of about 8 in 10 white evangelical Christians. Some of the other VoteCast findings:

• About eight in 10 Black Protestants supported Harris; 15% supported Trump.
• About 69% of Jewish voters supported Harris; about 30% supported Trump.
• About two-thirds of Muslim voters supported Harris; about one-third supported Trump.
• About six in 10 Mormons supported Trump; about one-third supported Harris.
• About seven in 10 nonreligious voters supported Harris; about three in 10 supported Trump.

In 2024, Catholic voters were sharply divided over volatile social issues, VoteCast and the NCR poll found. Some conservative Catholics said the Democratic Party's staunch support for abortion rights was reason enough to oppose Harris; more liberal Catholics said Trump's demonization of migrants and disinterest in social justice issues made him unworthy of support.

This story appears in the Election 2024 feature series. View the full series.