Thursday, March 28, 2024

Do Churchgoers Vote for Trump?

Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

There’s been a lot of talk of evangelical support for Donald Trump, and it’s true Trump has just about swept South including North Carolina earlier this week.

But in Missouri, where Trump beat Ted Cruz by the narrowest of margins, the exit polls for the first time asked voters about their church attendance and not just their religious affiliation.

It shows what many of us have suspected: a massive rebellion against Trump among Christians who actually attend religious services regularly.

Among those who show up at church once a week or more, Cruz crushed Trump, 55 percent to 32 percent according to the exit poll.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to win even in Missouri, where Cruz lost by an agonizingly narrow margin.

This dynamic may explain other oddities popping up in various exit polls, like the fact that even when Trump wins voters who make less than $50,000 and more than $100,000, Cruz wins among those making $50k-100k a year — an awful lot of married families with children in that slot.

Or that Cruz is winning the college educated — who are also more likely to be married and churchgoers.

The most religious voters are having the hardest time accepting Trump. Makes sense.

Maggie Gallagher is a senior fellow at the American Principles Project and can be followed on Twitter @MaggieGallaghe.

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