March 10, 2008
Catholic Voters Viewed as Key in Pennsylvania
by Russell Berman
The New York Sun
WASHINGTON -- One key to Senator Obama's chances of defeating Senator Clinton in the crucial Pennsylvania primary next month will be his courtship of Catholic voters, a sizable bloc that has loyally supported the former first lady throughout the primary season.
Catholics could make up more than one-third of the vote in the Keystone State on April 22, and Mrs. Clinton's victories in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island on Tuesday made clear that despite a stepped-up effort in recent weeks, Mr. Obama has failed to narrow her edge with that demographic.
Mr. Obama's campaign has fought aggressively against the perception that he has a "Catholic problem," but it does not deny the numbers: In state after state that Mrs. Clinton has won, exit polls show that she has captured as much as 65% of the Catholic vote -- a percentage that far outstrips her margin of victory. And in several states that Mr. Obama has claimed, including his home state of Illinois, which he won by 22 points, the Catholic vote has gone to Mrs. Clinton.
The Catholic numbers have prompted an intensifying debate about the reason the gap persists, and whether it is due to a specific advantage for Mrs. Clinton or doubts about Mr. Obama, or whether it is merely attributable to overlapping voting constituencies that favor the New York senator.
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