Catholics vote for President Barack Obama by 50 percent to 48 percent
Setback for Catholic bishops on gay marriage legislation in three states
By
JAMES O’SHEA,
IrishCentral Staff Writer
Published Thursday, November 8, 2012, 7:07 AM
Updated Thursday, November 8, 2012, 7:07 AM
Catholic voters went for Barack Obama by 50 to 48 percent, mirroring the national result according to exit polls.
Catholics have voted for the winner in every election since 1972, making them one of the most reliable swing vote barometers.
Many Catholics are Hispanic and there is no breakdown of the numbers between how Hispanic Catholics and other Catholics voted.
Catholics still voted for the incumbent despite efforts by many Catholic bishops to portray parts of Obamacare which deal with contraception as an attack on religion.
In addition, three states passed same sex marriage laws despite strong opposition from Catholic leaders. Voters in Washington, Maine and Maryland supported the marriage legislation.
It starts in 1972 because they had only voted republican once before that, in history, and that 1956 Catholic vote is questioned.
Catholics have only voted against one incumbent democrat (Carter 1980), in other words, they aren't leading the vote, but they can catch a wave during reelection of a republican, or in 1988, voting for Reagan's veep. Those exceptions were narrow, and may be the last we ever see.
Judging by this election, we have witnessed a temporary, short lived window, 1972 to 2004, of the Catholic vote not being totally dedicated to the democrats. An historical variance that is over now as the Catholic vote returns to it's normal place, as devoted to the democrat party always and forever.