Trump trails Democratic challengers among Catholic voters: poll

President Trump trails several of his potential Democratic challengers in theoretical head-to-head matchups among Catholic voters, though his approval rating has ticked up slightly in the last year among the group, according to a poll released Monday.

The poll, conducted by Real Clear Opinion and Catholic network EWTN, found 47 percent of Catholic voters approve of Trump’s job performance. Thirty-four percent of Catholics surveyed said they will definitely vote to reelect Trump.

The president gets particularly high marks from those who identify as devout Catholics, as 63 percent of that subset approve of Trump.

A Real Clear/EWTN poll of Catholics released in November 2019 showed Trump with a 44 percent approval rating.

Despite the slight bump in approval, Catholic voters still favor most of the president’s potential challengers in the November election, Monday’s poll found.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, himself a Catholic, beat Trump 51-40 among Catholic voters in a theoretical head-to-head matchup.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who appears on track to seize a commanding lead in the Democratic nominating contest, leads Trump among Catholics 50-41.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the next most preferred Democrat among those surveyed, leading Trump 48-39 among Catholics, according to the poll. The president also trails Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the poll found.

The survey was conducted Jan. 28-Feb. 4, and 1,521 people were polled. Of those, 274 were identified as devout Catholics. The margin of error in the survey is 2.8 percentage points.

The president has made a concerted effort to appeal to religious voters, evangelical Christians in particular, with policies aimed at protecting religious liberty and the appointment of conservative judges. Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have met with the Pope since taking office.

The Trump campaign is expected to launch a “Catholics for Trump” coalition to further build support among the group. 

Trump carried 52 percent of the Catholic vote in 2016 compared to 45 percent for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to data from Pew Research Center.