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Mitt Romney trouncing Rick Santorum even among Catholics
Religious News Service ^ | 03/04/2012 | Daniel Burke

Posted on 03/04/2012 4:44:49 PM PST by SeekAndFind

(RNS) Mitt Romney has trounced Rick Santorum, an ardent Catholic, among Catholic voters, but Romney's support among evangelicals has wavered thus far in the GOP presidential primary, according to a new analysis of exit poll data.

Though he won evangelicals in two states, in general Romney has performed 15 percentage points better among non-evangelicals, according to an analysis released Friday (March 2) by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Exit poll data is available in seven of the 11 states that have held primary contests to date, according to the Pew Forum. More detailed religious affiliations are available in six of those states.

White evangelicals formed more than a third of all GOP primary voters in each state except for Nevada (24 percent) and New Hampshire (21 percent). Romney, a Mormon, won the evangelical vote in those two states, and nearly tied for first in Arizona and Florida. But he lost the evangelical vote badly in three states: Michigan, Iowa and South Carolina.

Somewhat surprisingly, Santorum has not won the Catholic vote in a single state in which data is available, according to the Pew Forum.

Romney won the Catholic vote by at least 25 points in Florida, New Hampshire and Nevada. Romney also won 47 percent of the Catholic vote in Arizona, compared to Santorum's 33 percent. In Michigan, Romney bested Santorum among Catholics 44 to 37 percent.

Santorum has spoken far more about his faith during the campaign, while Romney has largely been mum on his Mormonism.

According to numerous separate polls, a significant minority of GOP voters, especially evangelicals, remain reluctant to vote for a Mormon president. Most Mainline Protestants and Catholics do not display the same aversion.

Romney, who has won more primary elections and delegates than any other GOP candidate, also won the Protestant vote in three states: New Hampshire, Nevada and Arizona.

However, the Pew Forum notes that Romney's success among Protestants in Nevada and Arizona is boosted by their large Mormon populations. (The Pew Forum does not typically consider Mormons Protestant, but exit polls often do.) Romney won 88 percent of the Mormon vote in Nevada and 96 percent in Arizona.

Texas congressman Ron Paul has performed the best among religiously unaffiliated voters in the two states -- Nevada and New Hampshire -- where they participated in large enough numbers to be analyzed.


TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: catholics; elections; romney; santorum; unexpected; whatasnob
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To: All; SeekAndFind

Rick Santorum has walked the walk, choosing life for two disabled children.

Let’s help Rick:

http://www.ricksantorum.com/


41 posted on 03/04/2012 6:31:54 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Linda Frances
One reason might me the smear campaign on him.

That wouldn't explain why as an incumbent Senator running for reelection he won 42% of the white Catholic vote and 71% of white Evangelicals.

42 posted on 03/04/2012 6:34:47 PM PST by ansel12 (Rick Santorum, Catholic, “I was basically pro-choice all my life, until I ran for Congress,” he sa)
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To: Allon

Santorum did fine with Protestants in Pennsylvania as Senator. Much better with them than with Catholics.


43 posted on 03/04/2012 6:40:32 PM PST by ansel12 (Rick Santorum, Catholic, “I was basically pro-choice all my life, until I ran for Congress,” he sa)
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To: Houghton M.

What is a Fringricher, are they supporters of the Catholic Newt Gingrich?


44 posted on 03/04/2012 6:43:05 PM PST by ansel12 (Rick Santorum, Catholic, “I was basically pro-choice all my life, until I ran for Congress,” he sa)
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To: Houghton M.
Sheesh. Who won the “Catholic vote” in 2008? Obama. “The Catholic vote,” unless broken down between committed Catholics and CINOs is a meaningless concept.

Why does that only apply to Catholics, and not Protestants? Protestants have only voted Democrat for President 3 times, 1932, 1936, and 1964, I don't think it is because Protestants are all devout church going saints.

45 posted on 03/04/2012 6:49:16 PM PST by ansel12 (Rick Santorum, Catholic, “I was basically pro-choice all my life, until I ran for Congress,” he sa)
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To: Houghton M.

**“The Catholic Vote” doesn’t exist. **

I don’t have the links anymore, but the Catholic vote got W elected in my opinion.


46 posted on 03/04/2012 6:51:08 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Kenny

Look at that post again, it is the same thing that sitting Senator Santorum faced in Pennsylvania


47 posted on 03/04/2012 6:56:51 PM PST by ansel12 (Rick Santorum Catholic “I was basically pro-choice all my life, until I ran for Congress,” he said)
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To: gfbtbb

It is Catholics and Evangelicals who do the most praying at Planned Parenthood Clinics. Get your facts straight, please.

Don’t judge unless you want to be judged.


48 posted on 03/04/2012 6:57:01 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

That was the weekly churchgoing Catholics. The idea that everyone who, when asked by a pollster, answers “Catholic” exist as a voting block is ridiculous. Among those who self-identify as “Catholic,” sharp divisions are found. Some are liberals, some are conservatives.

“The Catholic Vote” as an undifferentiated entity
does
not
exist.

Any analyst with half a brain knows that. Advocacy journalists make use of a “monolithic Catholic vote” when it suits their purposes.

So too, apparently,do FRingrichers. Anything to discredit the eeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiillllllllll Santorum and save the Great Hero Gingrich’s bacon.

Still waiting for that huge Gingrich surge.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.

Meanwhile Romney cruises to victory.

Thank you, FRingrichers.


49 posted on 03/04/2012 6:58:51 PM PST by Houghton M.
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To: RIghtwardHo

The elites don’t have to give us Romney. The fissiparous conservatives are doing just fine at giving us Romney, if you please. When Romney becomes the nominee, we have only ourselves to blame. The elites are laughing at us—we are doing exactly what their strategy requires: stay divided long enough for Romney to get the nomination with 2/3 of the Republican primary voters having voted against him.

It’s a replay of 2008 when Huckabee stayed in long enough to cancel out Romney and give us McCain. The elites didn’t do that, Huckabee conservatives did that.


50 posted on 03/04/2012 7:01:49 PM PST by Houghton M.
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To: ansel12

It does apply to Protestants, silly! What do you think the breakdown between Evangelical Protestants (who take their religion seriously and are conservatives for the most part) and mainline Protestants, who are flaming liberals, represents?

No one talks of “The Protestant Vote” because the fissure between liberal Mainline and conservative Evangelicals is so obvious.

Well, the fissure between churchgoing, faithful-to-the-bishops, church-teaching accepting conservative Catholics and liberal surburban CINOs is just as great and just as clear—dozens of sociologists have pointed it out.

But do the pundits and journalists do their analysis taking account of that fissure? No, they speak of “The Catholic Vote” as a monolith
when
it
suits
them.

And now some FReeper, in order to bash Santorum, has copied this neat little dishonest trick.

So, if you insist on referring to a monolithic Catholic vote (which does not exist), then don’t ever use the term “Evangelical Protestant vote” again—you have to lump ALL PROTESTANTS into the same bucket.

It’s an exact parallel to “The Catholic Vote”


51 posted on 03/04/2012 7:09:02 PM PST by Houghton M.
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To: ansel12

You mean Newt aka the “Tony Blair Catholic”? The one who bashes Santorum for being so damn Catholic?


52 posted on 03/04/2012 7:12:46 PM PST by Houghton M.
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To: Houghton M.
No one talks of “The Protestant Vote” because the fissure between liberal Mainline and conservative Evangelicals is so obvious.

They always talk about the Protestant vote, when Santorum was run out of office in 2006, he got 39% of the Catholic vote, 42% of the white Catholic vote, 49% of the Protestant vote, 55% of the white Protestant vote, and 71% of the white Evangelical vote.

Catholics are all from a single church, and are baptized members of that church, for Protestants they lump together black churches, homosexual churches, ultra conservative churches like the Southern Baptists, who although they are second in size only to the Catholics, get lumped in with the hard left churches.

Protestants didn't vote for Obama, baptized Catholics did, they are very Democrat. The Protestant vote (all lumped together) has only gone Democrat in 1932, 1936, and 1964, it is the same in California, Protestants vote majority Republican, the majority of Catholics prefer Democrats.

53 posted on 03/04/2012 7:35:15 PM PST by ansel12 (Rick Santorum Catholic “I was basically pro-choice all my life, until I ran for Congress,” he said)
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To: Houghton M.
You mean Newt aka the “Tony Blair Catholic”? The one who bashes Santorum for being so damn Catholic?

Personally I find Gingrich's converting to Catholicism inspiring, and I think that he could be a real asset as a Presidential nominee in winning over Catholics and Hispanic Catholics, and introducing some zeal and passion into the Catholic voters and help teach them that the GOP is where they belong.

54 posted on 03/04/2012 7:38:49 PM PST by ansel12 (Rick Santorum Catholic “I was basically pro-choice all my life, until I ran for Congress,” he said)
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To: All

“On abortion, he is one of many senators who vote pro-life. The difference is that he is personally responsible for making sure a lot of these votes occur in the first place: He was an architect of the effort to ban partial-birth abortion, a strategy that energized the pro-life movement and allowed it to go on the political offensive.”

http://www.heymiller.com/2010/08/the-fate-of-rick/

Rick Santorum gets things done, because he is a FIGHTER, and that is what we need.

Let’s help out this FIGHTER, Rick Santorum!


55 posted on 03/04/2012 8:20:33 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: All

“On abortion, he is one of many senators who vote pro-life. The difference is that he is personally responsible for making sure a lot of these votes occur in the first place: He was an architect of the effort to ban partial-birth abortion, a strategy that energized the pro-life movement and allowed it to go on the political offensive.”

http://www.heymiller.com/2010/08/the-fate-of-rick/

Rick Santorum gets things done, because he is a FIGHTER, and that is what we need.

Let’s help out this FIGHTER, Rick Santorum!


56 posted on 03/04/2012 8:25:07 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: All

“On abortion, he is one of many senators who vote pro-life. The difference is that he is personally responsible for making sure a lot of these votes occur in the first place: He was an architect of the effort to ban partial-birth abortion, a strategy that energized the pro-life movement and allowed it to go on the political offensive.”

http://www.heymiller.com/2010/08/the-fate-of-rick/

Rick Santorum gets things done, because he is a FIGHTER, and that is what we need.

Let’s help out this FIGHTER, Rick Santorum!


57 posted on 03/04/2012 8:25:20 PM PST by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Any Catholic that supports Romney is a fool - it is that simple.
Any Christian that supports Romney is a fool - it is that simple.
Any conservative that supports Romney is a fool - it is that simple.
Anyone who supports Romney is a fool - it is that simple.
Unfortunately that there are apparently a lot of fools in the USA.


58 posted on 03/05/2012 1:13:02 AM PST by svcw (Only difference between Romney & BH is one thinks he will be god & other one thinks he already is.)
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To: ansel12

Keep pickin’ them cherries.


59 posted on 03/05/2012 6:35:27 AM PST by Houghton M.
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To: ansel12

“They always talk about the Protestant vote”

No “they” don’t. They refer thousands of times to “Evangelical vote.”

What part of “Evangelical” as a subdivision of “Protestant” don’t you get?

The division among Protestants is so clear that everyone (except cherry-pickers like you) take it for granted.

Well, darn it, the same fault lines exist among “Catholics.” The difference is that there’s a veneer of unity—mainly because the bishops refused to excommunicate the CINOs years ago.

When it suits you, you ignore the fault lines. Fine. You are free to do that. But if you want to understand electoral politics, you’d better pay attention.

But you just wanted to slam Santorum by claiming that “Catholics” don’t support him.

Well, Protestants support Romney by a landslide. Protestants are going to give us Romney as the candidate.

It’s all the fault of Protestants.

Pick them cherries.


60 posted on 03/05/2012 6:40:08 AM PST by Houghton M.
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