Poll: Bush won more Mormons than Romney, but GOP improves among Jews, Catholics

A post-election poll by the Pew Forum showed that President George W. Bush actually garnered a higher percentage of the Mormon vote than Mitt Romney, the first major party candidate of the Mormon faith. But Romney posted substantial improvement among Jewish and Catholic voters, evidence Republican efforts to target those two demographic groups were not for naught.

According to the survey, while eight out of every 10 Mormons voted for Bush in 2004, Romney pulled 78 percent of Mormons — two percentage points lower.

Romney did fare better among some other religious groups. Romney pulled 57 percent of Protestants — besting John McCain's 54 percent in 2008. Among self-described born-again evangelicals, Romney's 69 percent represented a four-point jump from 2008.

And Romney made substantial gains among Catholics and Jews, two groups he targeted repeatedly during the campaign. Romney repeatedly highlighted a requirement under the president's healthcare plan that would require employers to purchase  plans that provided free contraception — despite objections from some Catholic groups — and sought a hard line on the issue of Iran.

Among White Catholics, Romney won nearly six out of every 10 voters, good for a seven-point swing from 2008. Romney only pulled three out of ever 10 Jewish voters, but that represented a nine-point improvement from McCain, who won only 21 percent of Jews.

Interestingly, Romney also saw a significant improvement among the religiously unaffiliated, improving five percentage points from 2008.

But President Obama's dominance among Hispanic voters, widely credited for aiding his reelection, was also reflected in the religious surrey. Among Hispanic Catholics, the president took three out of every four voters, improving three percentage points from his 2008 showing.

Some of the turnout problems that plagued Romney across the board were also evident in the religious survey. The number of white Protestant voters was down three percentage points from 2008, while the number of Catholics who voted was down two percentage points. Non-evangelical Christians were also down three percentage points.

It does appear, however, that the candidates were able to appeal to those with the strongest-held religious convictions. Among those who attend worship services more than once a week, turnout was up two percent, while weekly churchgoers also improved a percentage point from 2008.

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