Kamala Harris lost the Catholic vote in the 2024 election due to her “aversion to engaging with Catholic voters,” the co-founder of Catholics for Harris wrote in a recent Newsweek op-ed.
Christopher Hale wrote that the Democratic Party as a whole has a “growing ‘God problem,’” which makes religious Americans feel out-of-touch with the party’s priorities and policies.
“Over the years, the party has increasingly aligned itself with secular and progressive values, often sidelining religious voices in the process,” Hale wrote. “This shift has alienated many religious voters, who feel their beliefs are not only unrepresented but actively dismissed.”
Harris’ decision to skip the Al Smith dinner, an annual dinner in the Archdiocese of New York, was one of her largest mistakes and only confirmed her “disengagement” with Catholics, according to Hale.
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“Outside groups’ attempts to present pro-Catholic arguments in favor of Vice President Harris were drowned out by the snub, which fed into the damaging media narrative that Kamala Harris and the Democrats were anti-Catholic,” he wrote.
He added that the dinner was an opportunity to demonstrate “a willingness to find common ground, even on the most divisive issues,” but Harris’ decision to skip it “felt like a deliberate decision to sidestep an important constituency.”
According to data from Pew Research, the roughly 52 million Catholic adults in the U.S. represent 20% of the overall population, making Catholics a key demographic to win over in elections.
“Catholics are a diverse group, including both conservative and progressive voices. They are often key swing voters in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin,” Hale wrote, later adding that “Donald Trump … capitalized on this dynamic.”
“Trump’s campaign portrayed the Republican Party as the defender of religious freedom and traditional values, drawing in Catholic voters who felt overlooked by the Democrats. The result was a decisive shift in key states, contributing to the Democrats’ loss,” he added.
Hale concluded that the Democrats’ hope of regaining the popular Catholic vote lies in candidates’ ability to acknowledge and interact with the priorities and concerns of religious Americans. Winning over Catholics is vital to winning a presidential election, he argued.
He concluded, “I’m a political operative, so let me put it bluntly: A Democratic Party that loses 56-41 percent among Catholics, like it did in this election, is a Democratic Party without a future in vast portions of this country.”
LifeNews Note: Hannah Hiester writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
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