Catholics skeptical of Kamala may deliver Pennsylvania for Trump: report

Kamala Harris has a growing problem in Pennsylvania that could spell doom to her presidential campaign, with the swing state being seen widely as a battleground in the upcoming presidential election. Unlike President Joe Biden, Harris has no connection to the state, and may fail at the ballot box due to lacking an appeal to working-class Catholic voters, per a new report from Politico. 

According to the outlet, the chances of Harris winning with working with the demographic of working-class Catholics "are looking considerably dicier." Democrats are worried about the cultural separation between Harris and white working-class Catholics in the region as well as her pro-abortion messaging after the Dobbs decision, which may sour relations with some in the Pennsylvania demographic.


 

Biden may have represented that part of the Democrat Party in the region for some, but that has even waned in recent years as some in Pennsylvania have shifted more to the GOP. Additionally, Harris did not score herself any points with Catholics when in 2018 she grilled a judicial nominee about his affiliation with the Knights of Columbus, a respected Catholic organization with strong membership in the Keystone State.

Phil Condron, an advertising executive from Scranton who has described himself as a “Joe Biden Democrat," told the outlet, "We don’t have the Catholic connection with Harris. We don’t have the local connection with Harris."

“So, there’s really no reason to believe that she can approach the numbers that Biden was able to get when he ran last time," Condron added. Poll numbers are also suggesting the disconnect with Harris, per a EWTN/RealClear poll that had Trump up 52 to 42 percent with white Catholics nationally.

Vince Galko, a Scranton area-based Republican strategist, told the outlet, "There’s so many Democrats here because they grew up Democrat and they’re still registered Democrat, but they’re voting more Republican."

“There are still people who grew up Catholic and say they’re Catholic, but probably haven’t been to church in years or aren’t raising their families in any kind of Catholic tradition," he added. White Catholics overwhelmingly broke for Trump around the country in 2020, and it will be a challenge that Harris has to face if she has a chance of taking Pennsylvania.

“My strong sense is that Kamala will not do as well as Biden did … [among] those very Catholic voting blocs of the old school, especially Irish Catholics up in Lackawanna,” said Jim Bognet, who ran an unsuccessful GOP congressional campaign in 2020 and 2022. He said that there is high enthusiasm for Trump at his own church. He added that the "Joe from Scranton" brand that the president has is nothing like Harris, who will face an uphill battle to convince the demographic to come out to vote for her come November.