**U.S. Catholics Show Strong Support for Trump in Recent Election**

On Tuesday, November 5, as votes were tallied into the late evening, exit polls revealed a significant shift in the political leanings of U.S. Catholics. For the first time in decades, a large majority of U.S. Catholics favored former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. According to exit polls from NBC News, The Washington Post, and CNN, 58% of U.S. Catholics supported Trump, while only 40% backed Harris. This 18-point gap is the widest margin seen among this group in many years.

The divide was even more pronounced among white Catholics. An NBC News poll of key states found that 60% of white Catholics voted for Trump, compared to 37% for Harris. This marks a notable shift from the 2020 election when 57% of Catholics supported President Joe Biden, with only 42% backing Trump, as per a 2024 Pew Research Center study. Overall, the majority of Catholic voters had sided with Biden in 2020 according to Gallup.

Margaret Thompson, an associate professor of history and political science at Syracuse University, noted the increased gap among Catholic voters compared to the general public. She highlighted the changing dynamics within the Catholic community over the past two decades, pointing out that it has become smaller and more ethnically diverse. The significant increase in Latino support for Trump also contributed to this gap.

Cristina Traina, a professor of Christian theology and ethics at Fordham University, remarked on the unexpected nature of these results. Traditionally, experts could predict Catholic voting patterns based on their religious identity, but now Catholics show a broad spectrum of political affiliations. A Pew Research Center study released two months before Election Day had predicted a much smaller lead for Trump, by just five percentage points.

Traina also highlighted that despite 61% of Catholics expressing a desire for abortion to be legal in most cases, this did not appear to be a motivating factor for those voting for Trump. Instead, issues such as immigration and the economy played a more significant role in their decision-making, reflecting national voter concerns according to an AP VoteCast survey.

The survey further revealed that Catholics viewed Trump as better suited to handle most issues, with the exceptions being abortion and climate change. Among other religious groups, 72% of Protestants voted for Trump, while the majority of Jewish voters and those identifying as atheists, agnostics, or "nothing in particular" sided with Harris.