Among various blocs of religious voters, including himself loyal evangelical baseDonald Trump had about the same success in his victory over Kamala Harris as he did in his defeat against Joe Biden four years ago. One notable difference: He performed better among Catholic voters this year, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters.

in 2020Catholic voters, one of the largest religious blocs in the country, are almost evenly divided; 50% support Trump, while 49% support Biden, a long-time member of the faith.

This year, according to VoteCast, 54 percent of Catholic voters supported Trump and 44 percent supported Harris; This change was especially noticeable in North Carolina, Florida and Texas.

VoteCast documented a racial divide. About 6 in 10 white Catholics supported Trump, and about 4 in 10 white Catholics supported Harris. By contrast, about 6 in 10 Latino Catholics supported Harris, and about 4 in 10 Latino Catholics supported Trump.

VoteCast, among other groups, found that Trump performed about the same against Harris overall as he did against Biden, specifically winning the support of nearly 8 in 10 white evangelical Christians.

Some of VoteCast’s other findings:

–Nearly 8 in 10 Black Protestants supported Harris; 15 percent supported Trump.

–About 69% of Jewish voters supported Harris; about 30% supported Trump.

–Nearly two-thirds of Muslim voters supported Harris; About a third supported Trump.

–Nearly 6 in 10 Mormons supported Trump; About a third supported Harris.

–Nearly 7 in 10 non-religious voters supported Harris; Nearly 3 in 10 people supported Trump.

During the 2024 campaign, as in other recent national elections, Catholic voters were sharply divided on a variety of volatile social issues. Some conservative Catholics say Democratic Party is loyal support for abortion rights It was reason enough to oppose Harris; More liberal Catholics said Trump’s demonization of immigrants and lack of interest in social justice issues made him undeserving of support.

“Working for justice will be absolutely necessary,” the Rev. Sam Sawyer, editor-in-chief of the Jesuit newsmagazine America, wrote in his assessment of the election results.

“Mr. Trump campaigned on his promise mass deportationsIt will tear apart families and destabilize communities across the country,” Sawyer wrote. “Our immigrant brothers and sisters will need voices raised in their defense, and the Catholic Church in particular must advocate in solidarity with them.”

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America and a converted Catholic, said she, like many abortion opponents, was disappointed by Trump’s apparent preference for abortion. Abortion laws by state rather than a national ban. Yet he supported him steadfastly.

“As a Catholic, I understand that I’m not voting for a priest, a pope or a priest; I’m voting for a political candidate,” he told the Associated Press. “Either way, my choice is to vote for a sinner… You vote for the person who will limit the amount of evil in the world.”

As for Harris, an outspoken supporter of abortion rights, Hawkins said: “It was very clear that she was not going to be a friend of American Catholics.”

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, who works closely with immigrant and refugee communities in South Florida and beyond, expressed “cautious optimism” about Trump’s second term, believing that the reality of immigrants’ contributions to the U.S. economy will be more significant. More than just “exaggeration” about mass deportations.

“If he wants to achieve the ‘greatest economy ever,’ he’s going to have to work on some kind of compromise on immigration issues,” Wenski told the AP.

On abortion and other issues, Wenski said the Biden administration is sometimes giving people of faith heartburn “because of policy decisions that appear to interfere with religious freedom.” He applauded Trump’s appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices in his first term.

Wenski expresses relief at Florida’s ‘radical support for abortion’ ballot measure fell short of the 60% support needed to prevail. However, he expressed his awareness that “there is a long road ahead of us in developing a culture of life.”

Trump’s share of the Jewish vote (about 30%, according to VoteCast) was similar to the 2020 result, when 68% of Jewish voters supported Biden and 31% supported Trump.

Ted Deutch of the American Jewish Committee, CEO of one of the nation’s largest Jewish organizations, said the AJC looks forward to working with Trump and his administration on policies that will improve Israel’s security and combat antisemitism.

Deutch also called on the incoming administration to “increase unity among the American people and heal partisan divisions.”

Amy Spitalnick of the Jewish Public Affairs Council, the CEO of a left-of-center advocacy group, issued a statement saying Trump’s victory was “frightening for the many communities that have been continually threatened and demonized by his campaign.”

“Trump’s embrace of anti-democratic, anti-Semitic, xenophobic and racist conspiracy theories aims to make us all less safe while aiming to pit communities against each other and sow distrust in our democratic institutions,” Spitalnick said.

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AP reporter Giovanna Dell’Orto contributed to this report.

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Associated Press religious coverage gets support through APs partnership With The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.