Voting results from November’s midterm elections indicate the Republican party held a strong grip on the traditionally reliable Christian evangelical base. However, there was a notable decline in Catholic support for the GOP.
This “faith factor” in U.S. politics was the focus of a “Pizza and Perspectives” panel discussion in mid-November presented by George Mason University’s University Life Arlington and moderated by dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government, Mark J. Rozell. The discussion took place at Mason’s Founders Hall in Arlington, Virginia.
Panelists included Deal Hudson, president of the Morley Institute on Faith and Culture and leader of the Catholic outreach for George W. Bush, and Timothy Goeglein, vice president of external relations for Focus on the Family and a former special assistant to Bush in the White House.
Catholic support for Republican candidates was no doubt affected by external scandals, Hudson said.
"The Church scandals were in the background of the elections this year,” he said. “Catholics are very institution-oriented and the scandals had shaken the lay Catholics to the core...and that had political implications. Their trust in institutions had been shattered."
But not all scandals had a negative effect, he suggested.
"The intensity factor drove the elections this year,” he said, referencing the pre-election confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. “His nomination fight powered the Democratic turnout, but that also benefited the Republican candidates running for reelection in key Senate races.”
As for non-Catholic evangelicals, Goeglein agreed that the Kavanaugh debate was significant.
"Just as the empty [Antonin] Scalia chair was the catalyst for GOP voters in 2016, the Kavanaugh nomination battle was their catalyst in 2018," he said.
This mattered most for the GOP in the competitive senate races, he said.
Although he acknowledged that this was a “big blue wave election” for Democrats gaining seats in Congress, "for evangelicals it is now all about the courts, and if [President] Trump does nothing else in his presidency, evangelical support for him has been validated by all of his appointments not only to the Supreme Court but to the federal appellate, circuit, and district courts."
Holding the Senate, which confirms justices, was key for evangelicals, he said, adding, "It is highly likely Trump will get another Supreme Court pick before the end of this term."