First Things RSS Feed - James T. McHugh https://www.firstthings.com/author/james-t-mchugh en-us Copyright 2025 First Things. All Rights Reserved. ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) Mon, 20 Jan 2025 16:54:07 -0500 https://d2201k5v4hmrsv.cloudfront.net/img/favicon-196.png First Things RSS Feed Image https://www.firstthings.com/rss/author/james-t-mchugh 60 Catholics and the 1996 Election https://www.firstthings.com/article/1997/02/catholics-and-the-1996-election https://www.firstthings.com/article/1997/02/catholics-and-the-1996-election Sat, 01 Feb 1997 00:00:00 -0500 The endless political discussion of the 1996 elections seems at last to be over, and one gets the impression that Americans are glad it’s over. But the twists and turns of the Roman Catholic vote in the election deserve some further analysis, for they open a window on both what’s happening in the Church and what’s happening in the country. Though the Republicans maintained a majority in Congress, Catholic voting patterns varied from race to race and are therefore difficult to interpret. The pattern was more clear in voting for President. With voter turnout at its lowest since 1924, 53 percent of Catholic voters went for Bill Clinton, 37 percent for Bob Dole, and 9 percent for Ross Perot. Clinton’s Catholic total was up from 44 percent in 1992, but Dole’s was up as well–though not nearly as much–from Bush’s 35 percent. Both gains came at the expense of Perot, who had received 20 percent in 1992.

Continue Reading »

]]>