According to the latest exit polls, President-elect Donald Trump won the Catholic vote nationwide with 58% to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ 40%. That is the highest total any Republican presidential candidate has achieved since President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Delving down into the Catholic vote, Trump was able to win the hearts and minds of the Hispanic community.
One in three Catholics in our country are Hispanic, according to the latest statistics from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Trump won 46% of the Hispanic vote, according to CNN exit polls.
That winning margin was larger than any recent Republican presidential candidate, including Reagan. The prior high-water mark for a Republican candidate was George W. Bush, who won 44% of the Hispanic vote on his way to reelection in 2004.
Political pundits on both sides of the aisle suggest the major issue affecting the Hispanic vote was the southern border situation.
Hispanic citizens, who have the right to vote, are directly impacted by open-border migrants being placed in their communities, therefore driving down wages for all working-class individuals.
Interestingly, a Pew Research Center survey monitoring Hispanic Catholics between late August and early September showed Harris was winning their vote by 31 points (65% to 34%). The CNN post-election exit poll showed how far off that survey was.
“One of the things that we’re seeing is the Hispanic vote mattered a whole lot,” said one political analyst. “They’re still a moderate voting bloc, but they’re not necessarily Democratic all of the time.”
However, the same September survey showed that Trump was winning the support of white Catholics with 61% of their vote to Harris’ 38%, which ultimately corresponded with the election results, according to exit polls.
Within the diocese, Harris was able to hold on to a winning margin in the popular vote, although Trump received higher support than any recent Republican candidate.
In Queens County, Harris won 62% to Trump’s 38%, and in Kings County, Harris increased her winning margin by 71.5% to Trump’s 28.4%. New York Citywide results saw Harris win 55.8%-44.2%.
While the Catholic vote was decisive in the national election results, it had little impact on the Proposition 1 voting tally in New York state.
Statewide results showed that Prop 1 was approved — becoming a state constitutional amendment — with a 61% to 29% margin, according to the New York Board of Elections.
The margin was wider in New York City, with nearly 78% pro and 22% against, according to city Board of Elections results.
The Prop 1 results came as the state bishops advised Catholics to vote down the proposal on the grounds that it would create a constitutional amendment on abortion.
The move will make it much more difficult to overturn the measure if mindsets change in the future.
