A little over half of Catholic voters support 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a poll released Monday found.
Fifty-two percent of Catholic voters said they support the Catholic former vice president, according to an EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research poll released Monday evening.
A smaller percentage of Catholics said they support Trump: 40% of Catholics surveyed said they support the president, according to the poll. (RELATED: Here’s Amy Coney Barrett’s Advice For Young Women)
The gap between support for the presidential candidates narrows in swing states, however. In Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Biden leads Trump by four points, with 48% to Trump’s 44%.
“The gap also tends to narrow or flip to support for President Trump among Catholics who go to Mass more often,” the poll says, “while support for Biden increases among those who attend church less frequently.” (RELATED: Of The 88 Notre Dame ‘Colleagues’ Who Signed Letter Criticizing Barrett, There Are 4 Gender Studies Profs, 4 ‘Peace Studies’ Profs, 7 Librarians… And No Lawyers)
Biden, who is Catholic, has faced criticism from many Christians for his support of abortion, which is condemned by the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
The poll also found that 46% of Catholics support the confirmation of Catholic federal judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. Twenty-eight percent of Catholics opposed Barrett’s confirmation, and 27% of Catholics said they needed more information.
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) arrives to introduce 7th U.S. Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Rose Garden at the White House September 26, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Like the American electorate broadly, there is no consensus on Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the high court,” said Director of Polling for the Harvard University Institute of Politics John Della Volpe in a statement. Volpe oversaw the polling for RealClear Opinion Research.
“Slightly less than half (46%) support the nomination, while the Catholic voters either oppose it (28%) or are waiting to learn more before making a firm decision (27%),” Volpe said. “Judge Barrett enjoys the support of nearly four-in-five (77%) Catholic Republicans; but only about a quarter (24%) of Catholic Democrats say the same. Breaking from their support for Joe Biden in the November 3 matchup, Catholic Independents support Judge Barrett’s nomination by a margin of 11 points – 39% to 28%.”
The poll surveyed 1,490 likely Catholic voters between October 5 and October 11 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.79 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
The poll results come despite the Trump campaign’s continued efforts to appeal to Catholic voters. President Trump appealed directly to Catholic voters at the Al Smith Dinner at the White House in early October, saying: “Now more than ever, our nation needs a renewal of the values that this organization promotes and that the Catholic faithful live out each and every day in peace. We love the Catholic people. We love the Catholic religion. And above all, we respect it greatly.”
“As President, I will always support you in your effort to serve our fellow citizens and to lift up all humanity,” he said. “I will protect the Catholic Church, and I will defend the rights of religious believers of every race, religion, color, and creed.”
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