Evangelicals, Faith-based Voters Surged to More Than One Out of Every Three Voters, Backed GOP Candidates by Historic Margins
Washington, DC – Led by a record turnout of evangelicals, voters of faith provided the margin of victory for Republican candidates across the country, according to network exit polls and a post-election survey conducted by Faith & Freedom Coalition.
Self-identified evangelicals comprised a record 26% of the mid-term electorate and voted 80% Republican and only 16% Democratic.
The post-election survey commissioned by Faith & Freedom and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies found that 35% of the electorate self-identified as conservative Christians, and these voters cast 86% of their ballots for Republicans and only 12% for Democrats.
These numbers are the highest share of the electorate made up of conservative Christians in a mid-term election in the modern era.
Faithful, pro-life Roman Catholics voters similarly played a significant role in the election. Mass-attending Roman Catholics comprised 16% of the electorate and voted 65% for Republicans and 32% for Democrats.
“Voters of faith turned out in record numbers and gave Republicans in key states a margin of support that provided the difference in nearly every key race,” said Tim Head, executive director of Faith & Freedom Coalition. “At a time when some were writing the political obituary of the conservative religious vote, it showed its effectiveness yet again. Republicans cannot win without it, and Democrats would be wise to find a way to appeal to these voters of faith.”
Faith & Freedom Coalition contacted 181 million Christian voters throughout the country including Faith & Freedom volunteers reaching over 3.7 million voters of faith by knocking on over 2.2 million doors in advance of the 2018 midterm election.
Home visits were concentrated in 21 states targeting mid-to-high propensity voters with a turnout score of 5 or above, as well as voters that data analytics have identified as evangelicals or Roman Catholics who self-identify as pro-life, pro-marriage and pro-family. Using a smartphone app that locates faith-based voters using mapping software and enhanced voter lists, a total of 2,236 volunteers and 350 paid staff operating out of 39 field offices from California to West Virginia are knocking on doors, hanging door hangers, passing out voter guides, and using customized scripts to interact with voters based on their specific issue burdens.
In addition, Faith & Freedom reached 13.4 million voters with voter education mail, placed over 32 million digital ads on social media platforms, and delivered 28 million emails and text messages to encourage Christian voters to go to the polls. Text messages provided voters with links to nonpartisan voter guides and mapping software that directed voters to polling locations. Faith & Freedom volunteers made an estimated 450,000 get-out-the-vote calls during the final week in a dozen key states and 32 key Congressional districts.