Joe Biden, who would be the country’s second Catholic president if elected, holds a 12-point lead over President Trump among Catholic voters, but the numbers drastically change when it comes to regular Mass-goers.
The EWTN News/RealClear Opinion poll was released on Monday and found that Biden holds majority support within the denomination, with 53% favoring him, compared to 41% who said they favor Trump.
The 12-point lead in 2020 is an improvement for Democrats from the 2016 election. Half of those surveyed in 2020 said they voted for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, compared to 45% who backed the president, representing only a 5-point edge for Clinton last election cycle.
Religiosity was a major point of difference among Catholic voters who support Biden versus those who support Trump. Catholic voters who attend Mass daily support Trump 58% to 42%, and those who attend Mass more than once a week said they supported Trump 61% to Biden’s 37%. Catholics who said they attend Mass less than once per year support Biden 59% to 36%, and those who said they never go to Mass support the former vice president 69% to Trump’s 25% support.
The poll was conducted from Aug. 27 to Sept. 1, prior to the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and involved 1,212 likely Catholic voters. The survey, conducted online, has a 3-point margin of error.
