Overview
- Exit polls reported that Catholic voters were nearly evenly divided, about 50% for Democrats and 49% for Republicans, making them a decisive swing bloc in close contests.
- The religiously unaffiliated grew to roughly 27% of the electorate and backed Democrats by about 77%, a shift that contributed materially to Democratic gains.
- Analysts and Pew survey data say economic concerns such as inflation and a weak economy were the primary motivator for many voters across faith groups.
- The Catholic vote was internally mixed: white Catholics skewed Republican while Hispanic and Black Catholics favored Democrats by large margins, shaping state outcomes.
- Most Protestants still favored Republicans and white evangelical support for the president remained high, but preliminary signs of lower evangelical turnout suggest an enthusiasm gap that may have hurt GOP results and will require official turnout data to confirm.