Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency on Tuesday with the help of Christian voters. In particular, he attracted overwhelming support among white Evangelicals, who voted for him in higher proportions than the previous three Republican presidential candidates.
Exit polling shows that a majority of Protestant and “other Christian” voters (58 percent), in addition to a majority of Catholic voters (52 percent), cast their ballots for Donald Trump. His opponent Hillary Clinton drew the majority of voters identifying with other religious affiliations surveyed. This included 71 percent of “nones” and 68 percent of Jews.
Fifty-six percent of voters who attended a religious service at least weekly supported Trump. In contrast, 62 percent of those who said the “never” went to religious services voted for Clinton.
Trump racked up a massive lead among white Evangelicals, who made up 26 percent of voters this election. More than four out of five of them (81 percent) voted for Trump, while only 16 percent voted for Clinton. The Republican president-elect’s win among white Evangelicals exceeded that of the past three GOP nominees.
“Trump’s 65-percentage-point margin of victory among voters in this group – which includes self-described Protestants, as well as Catholics, Mormons and others – matched or exceeded the victory margins of George W. Bush in 2004, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012,” Pew Research Center noted.
Institute on Religion and Democracy President Mark Tooley pointed out that white Evangelicals represented “nearly half of Trump’s voters” in comments published by BreakPoint. He said they choose to vote for the Republican president-elect “despite the critiques of Trump by many evangelical elites and despite a lack of support from many young evangelicals.”
“In many ways evangelicals are responsible for Trump and will own the consequences of his administration,” Tooley added.
Exit polling was conducted by Edison Research on behalf of the National Election Pool. This partnership included ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Fox News and NBC News.
Comment by Joan Watson on November 11, 2016 at 12:09 am
I will gladly take responsibility for Trump’s election. When push came to shove, I just could not vote for at least 4 more years of an Obama-like presidency with all its political correctness and focus on one small segment of the population. I am also tired of the arrogance of the liberal/progressives. I am delighted at the discussion Trump’s election has started: this country is for everybody including those who happen to be white; This does not make me a racist and I will continue to treat everybody with care and respect regardless of race or ethnicity. My husband works in a local business that gives him access to a wide cross-section of people and what I have stated is what everybody else who voted for Trump are saying–this includes at least one Hispanic and a Puerto Rican. What I am observing is that all the liberal/progressive squawking is having the exact opposite effect they are hoping for: within the last year a very nice and very expensive gun club has been built in our mostly rural county in south central Texas.
Comment by johnmcadams on November 18, 2016 at 5:59 pm
I think evangelicals knew perfectly well about Trumps faults, but also knew that the elites among the Democrats (and this includes potential Hillary appointees, including Supreme Court appointees) simply don’t much care for Christians, and openly oppose religious freedom for Christians. Those are the folks who would force a Christian baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding, force the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide contraceptives, forbid Christian schools to participate in school choice programs, and so on. And indeed, force schools districts to allow a kid with a penis to run around naked in the girls locker room because he thinks he’s a girl.
Comment by Grandpa Dino on November 18, 2016 at 8:59 pm
I was a Chief Officer of Election at a precinct in Fairfax City, VA and was very pleased at the smooth process of getting voters in and out. The only issue I had was with a democrat poll watcher who would not follow the rules.
My wife and I decided to turn off the TV and radio on election night and wait until Wednesday to see the results. I needed multiple confirmations from The Washington Post and New York Times before I would believe the outcome. It was a happy morning for us!
Go to http://www.WhyVoted.com and see why people voted and for whom. It is not a discussion forum, but has some good insights. You may leave your own, should you so desire.