Does Barack Obama have a Catholic, as opposed to a white Christian problem? In Pennsylvania yesterday, the answer was yes. Where white Protestants went for Clinton by 58 percent to 42 percent, white Catholics split 71-29 in her favor. That’s the worst showing Obama’s gotten among that group of voters anywhere in the nation, not excluding New York. In Ohio (so often compared to Pennsylvania), Obama actually did better among white Catholics (34-65) than among white Protestants (30-67). What gives? Pennsylvania’s white Catholics are, I think, more working class, more classic Reagan Democrat. Pennsylvania’s white Protestants comprise many fewer evangelicals, and a lot more moderate-to-liberal suburbanites.
Jews went for Clinton, but by a smaller margin than white Protestants. Unaccountably, all Jews were slightly more pro-Clinton (57-43) than white Jews (56-44). As usual, those of non-Judeo-Christian faiths and of no religion went strongly for Obama. But the big religion story of the primary was the overwhelming Catholic support for Clinton–and the utter failure of popular Catholic pro-life governor Bob Casey, Jr. to move his co-religionists in the direction of his favored candidate.