Most Catholic voters favor Biden, cite the economy as their biggest concern

A yard sign proclaiming “Catholics for Biden” this election season. Photo via Etsy.

NEW YORK — A majority of U.S. Catholics say they plan to vote for Joe Biden for president, citing the economy and jobs as their biggest concern during the pandemic, a new poll shows.

The newest EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research poll on Catholic priorities this election season finds that the coronavirus pandemic has deeply affected the way they plan to vote this year. While Biden enjoys a 12-point margin (53% to 41%) over Donald Trump, the president continues to do best among those who regularly attend Mass on Sundays.

Among that subset, Trump holds a 16-point margin, many of them living in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio that are essential for the president to capture the Electoral College.

The poll — released Monday and the third of four surveys conducted since November 2019 — was taken before the death this past Friday of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

Trump, who plans to fill the vacancy before Nov. 3, is likely to nominate Amy Coney Barrett, a federal judge and devout Catholic who has become a darling among political conservatives in recent years.

The Supreme Court, for instance, came as a priority for just 68% of voters, while abortion was a concern to just 59%. Both those issues could see a rise an importance should the Supreme Court conformation hearings become protracted and bitter in the coming weeks.

Trump has vowed to name a nominee by the end of this week. While Democrats oppose voting on a replacement so close to an election, so far just two Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — said they want to delay a vote.

In terms of the latest poll results, Catholics who attend Mass more than once a week, meanwhile, supported Trump by 24 percentage points.

Biden, who is Catholic, does better with those who attend Mass less than once a year (59% to 36%) and among people who never attend Mass (69% to 25%).

The former vice president also does better with Hispanics who identify as Roman Catholic. Overall, they support Biden by a margin of more than two to one (63% to 31%) among those who attend Mass weekly.

“The most observant Roman Catholics still tend to support Donald Trump and the Republican Party, as do large majorities of white evangelical Protestants — and are among the most highly motivated voters,” said RealClearPolitics Washington bureau chief Carl Cannon. “But the question for the GOP is whether there are enough of these voters to make up the difference.”

Biden, if elected, would be only the second Roman Catholic president in American history after John F. Kennedy.

The survey also found other interesting trends to emerge as a result of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns and civil unrest. Here are a few highlights:

— More than nine in 10 Catholic likely voters (91%) are concerned about the economy and jobs.

— Catholics are very concerned about anti-religious violence by a seven to one margin (83% to 12%) following vandalism on churches this past summer.

— More than three to one (74% to 21%) most said they were concerned about attacks on statues of Catholics including Christopher Columbus and St. Junipero Serra.

— By more than two to one (53% to 19%), a majority said that Catholics should do more to heal the racial divisions in America following the death of George Floyd.

— More than seven in 10 Catholics (71%) said it was distressing to be unable to attend Mass during the pandemic.

All these factors will have a profound impact on the Catholic vote this fall. While Catholics are not a monolith, issues such as the economy and COVID-19 matter to them.

“The issue lens that Catholics are using to choose a president has changed significantly since our first poll in November 2019,” said John Della Volpe, Director of Polling for the Harvard University Institute of Politics who oversaw the polling for RealClear Opinion Research. “Coronavirus, the economy, and health care are the primary concerns of Catholic voters as we enter the fall.”

RealClear Opinion Research conducted the poll during the final week of August among those who are registered to vote and say they “definitely” plan to vote in the November election.

Clemente Lisi is a senior editor and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged. He is the former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York City. Follow him on Twitter @ClementeLisi.