Mitt Romney trouncing Rick Santorum among Catholics

c. 2012 Religion News Service
(RNS) Mitt Romney has trounced Rick Santorum, an ardent Catholic, among
Catholic voters, but Romney's support among evangelicals has wavered thus far
in the GOP presidential primary, according to a new analysis of exit poll
data.

Though he won evangelicals in two states, in general Romney has performed
15 percentage points better among non-evangelicals, according to an
analysis released Friday (March 2) by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Exit poll data is available in seven of the 11 states that have held
primary contests to date, according to the Pew Forum. More detailed religious
affiliations are available in six of those states.

White evangelicals formed more than a third of all GOP primary voters in
each state except for Nevada (24 percent) and New Hampshire (21 percent).
Romney, a Mormon, won the evangelical vote in those two states, and nearly
tied for first in Arizona and Florida. But he lost the evangelical vote badly
in three states: Michigan, Iowa and South Carolina.

Somewhat surprisingly, Santorum has not won the Catholic vote in a single
state in which data is available, according to the Pew Forum.

Romney won the Catholic vote by at least 25 points in Florida, New
Hampshire and Nevada. Romney also won 47 percent of the Catholic vote in Arizona,
compared to Santorum's 33 percent. In Michigan, Romney bested Santorum
among Catholics 44 to 37 percent.

Santorum has spoken far more about his faith during the campaign, while
Romney has largely been mum on his Mormonism.

According to numerous separate polls, a significant minority of GOP
voters, especially evangelicals, remain reluctant to vote for a Mormon president.
Most Mainline Protestants and Catholics do not display the same aversion.
Romney, who has won more primary elections and delegates than any other
GOP candidate, also won the Protestant vote in three states: New Hampshire,
Nevada and Arizona.

However, the Pew Forum notes that Romney's success among Protestants in
Nevada and Arizona is boosted by their large Mormon populations. (The Pew
Forum does not typically consider Mormons Protestant, but exit polls often
do). Romney won 88 percent of the Mormon vote in Nevada and 96 percent in
Arizona.

Texas congressman Ron Paul has performed the best among religiously
unaffiliated voters in the two states -- Nevada and New Hampshire -- where they
participated in large enough numbers to be analyzed.