Catholics swung to Trump this election cycle

Catholic voters said “yes” to Donald Trump in Tuesday’s election, giving the Republican a 10-point jump from 2020 to 2024.

A Washington Post exit poll shows that 56% of Catholic voters backed Mr. Trump compared with just 41% for Ms. Harris, marking a significant swing from the more evenly split Catholic vote in 2020.  

This 15-point margin, according to several Catholic commentators, reflects deeper trends within American Catholicism, where younger, more conservative-leaning Catholics are increasingly aligning with Republican positions on issues like religious freedom and abortion.

“The cultural and ethnic diversification of American Catholics does not mean that they naturally vote for the party presenting itself as the diversity party,” Massimo Faggioli, a professor of historical theology at Villanova University, told La Croix International. 

Mr. Trump’s support among Catholic voters has certainly surged from the narrow five-point edge he held over Biden in 2020. And Mr. Faggioli noted that this change signals a “generational rupture” within U.S. Catholicism, with younger Catholics now less likely to support traditional Democratic figures like Joe Biden and instead gravitating toward what he described as a “new conservative Catholic guard.”

Mr. Trump’s campaign worked to woo Catholic voters — most obviously in the president-elect’s choice of J.D. Vance, a Catholic convert, as his running mate. Last month, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an op-ed from Mr. Vance in which he accused Ms. Harris of anti-Catholic prejudice. 

“Only by rejecting her record of anti-Catholic bias will we ensure religious liberty for all,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Ms. Harris’ relationship with Catholic voters appeared strained during her short campaign, as evidenced when she missed the traditional Al Smith Dinner — a key event in New York City where presidential candidates engage with prominent Catholic leaders. Her absence was widely noted, historically rare and seen by many Catholics as a missed opportunity to connect with the constituency.

Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow at the Catholic political organization the Catholic Association, criticized Ms. Harris’ approach.

“Kamala Harris ran an anti-Catholic campaign,” Ms. McGuire said in a post-election email. “Whether mocking Catholic school girls or insisting Catholic doctors be forced to perform abortions, Harris made no efforts to hide her disdain for people of faith and disregard for religious liberty.” 

Indeed, for Catholic voters, social issues like abortion and religious freedom emerged as critical factors driving support toward the GOP nominee, polling shows. Mr. Trump swept up 90% of voters opposing legal abortion, while Harris pulled in just 9% of that group, according to The Post’s data. 

Ms. McGuire also praised Mr. Trump’s victory as a mandate “to reject anti-Catholic extremism and restore the safeguards around America’s First Freedom.”

Exit polls underscored broader religious divides as well. Ms. Harris found favor among Jewish voters (79%), other faiths (60%), and nonreligious (72%), while Mr. Trump swept the overall Protestant Christian vote at 62%.

Pope Francis, for his part, declined to throw an endorsement behind either candidate. The pontiff told Catholic Americans in September they ought to choose the “lesser evil.”