Catholic engagement in the 2024 U.S. presidential election shifted in measurable ways, and newly released data help explain why those changes matter for the Church’s public witness. According to the Pew Research Center’s validated-voter study issued June 26, “about 22% of those who voted in the 2024 election and cast their ballot for President Donald Trump were Catholic,” highlighting Catholics’ continued weight in national politics.
Pew’s researchers matched nearly 9,000 members of their American Trends Panel against three commercial voter files—one Republican-leaning, one Democratic-leaning, and one non-partisan—to confirm each participant’s turnout history across five general elections. By comparing those records with the respondents’ own survey answers, the study offers a rare look at how reliably self-described Catholics voted, how often they switched parties, and which issues seemed to matter most.
The numbers show that Trump “had support from the majority of voting Catholics, with 55% casting their vote for him,” while 43% chose Vice-President Kamala Harris. That 12-point spread marks a notable break from 2020, when the Catholic vote was almost evenly divided. Part of the difference came from movement within the flock itself: Pew found that “7% of Catholic voters” who had backed Joe Biden in 2020 switched to Trump in 2024, whereas “only 4% of Catholics who favored Trump” four years earlier crossed over to Harris this time.
Attendance at Mass and other worship services also correlated with support for the Republican candidate. Among Americans who report going to church at least monthly, 64% voted for Trump—up five percentage points from 2020—while just 34% supported Harris. The pattern held across the broader Christian landscape: “about 80% of [Trump’s] voters identified as Christian, compared with only about half of Harris voters,” according to the report.
Ethnicity factored into the Catholic surge as well. Trump’s share of the Hispanic vote grew steadily over all three of his campaigns—“28% in 2016, 36% in 2020, and 48% in 2024.” Naturalized citizens followed a similar arc, with Trump gaining nine points among foreign-born voters between the last two elections. Overall, “85% of Trump’s 2020 voters cast their ballot for him again in 2024,” underscoring a high degree of loyalty within his Catholic base.
For pastors, parish councils, and Catholic civic-engagement ministries, Pew’s findings raise practical questions. The data suggest that regular sacramental life may shape political choices more than demographic labels alone, and that outreach to Hispanic and immigrant Catholics could prove decisive in future elections. Understanding those dynamics now will help Church leaders accompany the faithful—whatever their partisan leanings—before the next national campaign begins in earnest.
Most of my church deeply regrets having voted for Trump. Witnessing all of “deals” being made only with the world’s ruthless dictators including most wanted dangerous Al Queda leader now Pres. of Syria thanks to Putin. Trump then changed his terrorist status to “ally” to share nuclear & tech deals. Trump continues to betray all of us both promises made and endangering security of the nation. We are getting ready to do something historic to stop this treason.
Most your church regrets voting for Trump? Did you have a church poll that documented this? I find that hard to believe. I voted for Trump and don’t agree with a lot of what he does and says, or how he goes about saying it. But if you think about the deal made by Obama with Iran on nuclear Deals, We literally funded Iran enriching nuclear grade material for atomic weapons. Think back to Cargo planes unloading hundreds of pallets of us dollars.in Iran to bring them.to the table for nuclear talks. How did that work out for the USA? People have very short attention span as a whole in America…. How about the dictator in Ukraine Biden’s son was entertaining with Big Guy….and as soon as a Ukrainian investigation was put in motion.the investigators were all fired? Lets face it, our government is not run by Saints……but after the Big Top Biden Circus we had for four years? At least now we have a administration that knows the difference between a man and a woman. And recognizes a marriage and a family unit. And how about the FBI’ s attack on Traditional Catholics in Virginia. labeling them as Terrorists. That was on your supposedly Catholic. President Biden’s watch? You still regret voting for Trump. How soon we forget. .my advice is pray for your president and this country. So we don’t repeat another 4 years of someone worse than Biden. He’s not my cup of Joe.