President Joe Biden proclaims to be a Catholic even though a lot of his policies do not seem to be in accord with his supposed .Catholic faith. However, in this an election year, the more important thing is not what a candidate proclaims, but which candidate gets the Catholic vote, and how important is the Catholic vote?
From Townhall:
“Historically, the Catholic voter base has a stellar record in determining the presidential winner. In fact, before the 2020 election, for a half century the Catholic vote went to the presidential winner in every contest but one. The exception was the super-close 2000 race between Al Gore and eventual winner George W. Bush.
In 2020, the Catholic vote split almost exactly evenly between President Trump and Biden. But crucially, Catholics in 2020 shifted materially against Trump compared to his 2016 performance. According to the Pew Research validated voter survey of election returns, in 2016, Trump earned a Catholic windfall, winning the group by eight percentage points, 52-44%. That big margin proved critical, especially in heavily Catholic battleground states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.”
But what about 2024?
From Townhall:
New polling shows a commanding +23% lead for President Trump among Michigan Catholics, a key voting block for November in this super competitive battleground state. Right now, per a survey commissioned by the League of American Workers, Trumpearns 54% of the Catholic vote in the Great Lakes State vs. 31% for Biden and undecided at 15%.
If current trends hold, Trump could well enjoy a victory among Catholic voters that far exceeds his prior 2016 triumph.
Looking at the details in the polling crosstabs, the main driver for this Trump romp among Catholics is the economy.
Secondly, rank-and-file Catholics clearly reject Biden on the immigration enforcement. When asked to rate the federal government’s job performance on managing the border, a stunning 0% of Michigan Catholics rated it as “very strong” and a shopping 70% said it is “very weak.” That latter number was far higher than even Evangelical Protestants, who lean well to the right politically.
In addition, Biden’s extremism on abortion seems to cost him Catholic support.
If Catholics continue their near perfect record of deciding the presidency, then Donald J. Trump appears headed to a second term as the 47th president of the United States.”
Let us pray!
3/21/24