Among several blocs of religious voters, including his loyal evangelical base, Donald Trump fared roughly as well in his victory over Kamala Harris as he did in his loss to Joe Biden four years ago. One notable difference: He did better this year among Catholic voters, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters.
, the Catholic electorate 鈥 one the biggest religious blocs in the nation 鈥 was almost evenly split, with 50% backing Trump and 49% favoring Biden, a longtime member of the faith.
This year, according to VoteCast, 54% of Catholic voters supported Trump and 44% backed Harris 鈥 a shift that was particularly notable in North Carolina, Florida and Texas.
VoteCast documented a racial divide. About 6 in 10 white Catholics supported Trump, and about 4 in 10 supported Harris. By contrast, about 6 in 10 Latino Catholics supported Harris, and about 4 in 10 supported Trump.
Among other groups, VoteCast found that Trump generally fared about the same against Harris as he did against Biden, notably winning the support of about 8 in 10 white evangelical Christians.
Some of the other VoteCast findings:
--About 8 in 10 Black Protestants supported Harris; 15% supported Trump.
--About two-thirds of Jewish voters supported Harris; about one-third supported Trump.
--About two-thirds of Muslim voters supported Harris; about one-third supported Trump.
--About 6 in 10 Mormons supported Trump; about one-third supported Harris.
--About 7 in 10 nonreligious voters supported Harris; about 3 in 10 supported Trump.
During the 2024 campaign, as in other recent national elections, Catholic voters were sharply divided over various volatile social issues. Some conservative Catholics said the Democratic Party鈥檚 staunch was reason enough to oppose Harris; some more liberal Catholics said Trump鈥檚 demonization of migrants and disinterest in social-justice issues made him unworthy of support.
鈥淲ork for justice will certainly be necessary," wrote the Rev. Sam Sawyer, editor-in-chief of the Jesuit news magazine America, in an assessment of the election results.
鈥淢r. Trump campaigned on the promise of , which would tear families apart and destabilize communities across the country,鈥 Sawyer wrote. 鈥淥ur immigrant brothers and sisters will need voices raised up in their defense, and the Catholic Church especially must be a champion of solidarity with them.鈥
Kristan Hawkins, a Catholic convert who is president of Students for Life of America, said she 鈥 like many abortion opponents 鈥 was disappointed in Trump's avowed preference for rather than a national ban. Yet she staunchly supported him.
鈥淎s a Catholic, I understand I am not voting for a priest or a pope or a pastor 鈥 I'm voting for a political candidate,鈥 she told The Associated Press. 鈥淢y choice, either way, is voting for a sinner ... You vote for the person who will limit the amount of evil in the world.鈥
As for Harris, am outspoken supporter of abortion rights, Hawkins said, 鈥淚t's been very clear she's not going to be a friend to American Catholics.鈥
Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, who has worked closely with migrant and refugee communities in South Florida and beyond, sounded a note of 鈥渃autious optimism鈥 about a second Trump term, believing that the reality of migrants鈥 contributions to the U.S. economy will matter more than the 鈥渉yperbole鈥 about mass deportations.
鈥淚f he wants to accomplish 鈥榯he greatest economy ever,鈥 he鈥檚 going to have to work on some type of accommodation on the immigration issues,鈥 Wenski told the AP.
On abortion and other issues, Wenski said the Biden administration had sometimes given people of faith 鈥渉eartburn because of policy decisions that seem to intrude on religious liberty.鈥 He applauded Trump's appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices during his first term.
Wenski expressed relief that Florida鈥檚 鈥渞adically pro-abortion" fell short of the 60% support needed for prevailing. But he conveyed his awareness of 鈥渁 long road ahead of us in promoting a culture of life.鈥
Trump鈥檚 share of Jewish votes 鈥 about one-third, according to VoteCast 鈥 closely resembled the 2020 outcome.
The CEO of one of the nation鈥檚 largest Jewish organizations, Ted Deutch of the American Jewish Committee, said the AJC looked forward to working with Trump and his administration on policies that would bolster Israel鈥檚 security and combat antisemitism.
Deutch also urged the incoming administration to 鈥渋ncrease unity among the American people and repair partisan divides.鈥
The CEO of a left-of-center advocacy group, Amy Spitalnick of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, issued a statement saying Trump鈥檚 victory is "terrifying for so many communities who have been consistently threatened and demonized by his campaign.鈥
鈥淭rump鈥檚 embrace of anti-democratic, antisemitic, xenophobic, and racist conspiracy theories seeks to pit communities against one another and sow distrust in our democratic institutions, while making all of us less safe,鈥 Spitalnick said.
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AP reporter Giovanna Dell'Orto contributed to this report.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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This story was first published on Nov. 8, 2024. It was updated on Nov. 13, 2024 to correctly report the results of the AP VoteCast survey related to Jewish voters in the presidential election.
