Is There Still a “Catholic Vote?”

For most of the 20th century, there were monolithic blocs of urban Catholic voters who determined the outcomes of many Federal, State and local elections. These Catholics, whom Cardinal Timothy Dolan fondly calls “meat and potato” faithful, went to Mass on Sunday, obeyed the teachings of the Church, sent their children to Catholic schools, and joined Catholic fraternal societies. The parish was often the center of their lives.

They first demonstrated their polling-booth power in 1928, when they came out in droves to vote for one of their own—the Democratic candidate for president, Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York. The 67.5 percent turnout of eligible voters in 1928 was 10.9 percent more than 1924. This surge was due to the “Great Awakening” of Catholic voters who cast more than 80 percent of their votes for Smith. While Smith lost the election due to anti-Catholic bigotry, he left his mark on the political battlefield. Thanks to the outpouring of Catholic voters, Smith was the first Democrat to carry America’s 12 largest cities.

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