By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-10-19 09:48:09 | Updated at 2024-10-19 12:35:57
2 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // The New York Times reported on Friday that the presence of Sen. JD Vance, R-OH, on the Republican ticket is convincing many Catholic voters in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania to cast their 2024 ballots for former President Donald Trump.
Many analysts agree that the candidate who carries the Keystone State and its 19 electoral votes on November 5 will almost certainly win the presidency.
Vance, who converted to the Catholic faith in 2019, is the “only Catholic on either national ticket,” Times national religion correspondent Elizabeth Dias wrote in a Friday report from Pittsburgh.
“His politics resonate with many white conservative Catholics,” she noted, pointing out that the Republican vice presidential nominee is both an “economic populist” and an “outspoken social conservative.”
Dias outlined her experience speaking with many Catholic voters at a recent event organized by CatholicVote in Mt. Lebanon, a heavily Catholic suburb bordering the city of Pittsburgh.
At the event, Dias found that Vance’s “political profile resonates with many of these voters, who are worried about issues like education, transgender rights and the economy, in addition to abortion.”
“Mr. Vance proved to be a valuable touchstone,” the reporter said of her discussions with Catholic voters at the event, “a reassurance that no matter how much Mr. Trump may waffle on issues like abortion, Mr. Vance is one of them.”
>> WHITE HOUSE SPEECHWRITER: PA CATHOLICS WILL BE KEY FOR TRUMP <<
The gathering was hosted by CatholicVote volunteer Colleen Oxenreiter and was attended by about three dozen other volunteers, according to Dias.
The Times correspondent reported that Oxenreiter told her “the group’s mission” is “to reach out, in a campaign of postcards and video text messages, to Catholic Republicans who did not vote in 2020.”
“If they vote this time, she hoped, it could be enough to win back the battleground state, and the White House,” Dias added.
Earlier this year, CatholicVote reported that a “set of New York Times / Siena polls show that nearly one in five registered voters from six swing states, including many Catholics, did not vote in the 2020 presidential election.”
Dias also indicated that CatholicVote’s messaging highlighting Vance’s status as “a faithful Catholic” moved volunteer and event attendee Christina Costain, “who doesn’t love where Mr. Trump was on abortion but she said she had come to ‘absolutely love JD Vance.’”
>> TRUMP LEADING HARRIS AMONG SWING STATE CATHOLIC VOTERS <<
Costain praised Vance and “marveled at how ‘smooth’ he was during his debate with Gov. Tim Walz,” Dias wrote. “Perhaps most importantly to her, ‘JD Vance, he’s admitted when his mind has been changed,’ she said. ‘He’s humble.’”
Readers with a New York Times subscription can find Dias’ full report here.
