CV NEWS FEED // CatholicVote’s new poll found that Catholic voters in five battleground states prefer former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden by a margin of 17 points.
Moreover, about two-thirds of respondents believe Biden “should not be running for reelection.”
The July 2 TH2 Strategies poll commissioned by CatholicVote surveyed Catholic voters in the closely-contested swing states of Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Biden carried all of these states in 2020.
When the voters were asked their “presidential candidate preference,” 47.61% chose Trump while only 30.85% picked Biden.
Third-party support among respondents registered in the single digits, with 4.36% saying they backed independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and 1.88% indicating they support “[a]nother 3rd party candidate.”
The remaining 15.31% of the Catholic voters stated they were “undecided at this time.”
Former Congressman Tim Huelskamp, Ph.D., noted that the polls’ “results are remarkably similar across all five states.” Huelskamp serves as a senior political advisor to CatholicVote.
>> POLL: LARGE PERCENTAGE OF CATHOLICS DID NOT VOTE IN 2020 <<
The poll also asked Catholic voters “Should Biden be running for reelection?” Nearly two-thirds – 66.40% – answered that he “should not be running” while only 33.60% indicated that he “should be running.”
Huelskamp wrote: “It is a clear, unmistakable no: battleground Catholics do not want their fellow Catholic Joe Biden running for reelection.”
The poll divided respondents into five partisan categories: Strong GOP, Lean GOP, Swing, Lean Democrat, and Strong Democrat. A large majority of all groups except for Strong Democrats indicated that Biden “should not be running.”
Even out of Strong Democrat respondents, 40% answered that Biden “should not be running,” reflecting an increasing trend of Democrats expressing openness to an alternative presidential nominee.
The poll also asked the Catholic voters who answered “should not” to the previous question the primary reason why they think Biden should not be running.
Forty-one percent cited Biden’s “record as president,” while 27.14% said the 81-year-old commander-in-chief’s age was their main concern.
An additional 23.79% cited “decisions he might make in office,” while the remaining eight percent pointed to “concerns about him campaigning as effectively in 2024.”
“Joe Biden has a Catholic problem,” concluded Huelskamp.