By Thomas J. Reese, S.J., senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center America, December 7, 1996 Copyright © 1996 by America Press All rights reserved In an article (America, November 2, 1996) before the November election, I noted that Catholics traditionally vote more democratic than white Protestants, but that it remained to be seen how Catholics would vote this year. Now that the election is over, polling data from the Voters News Service shows that once again Catholics are voting Democratic in heavy numbers. Fifty-three percent of Catholics voted for Clinton while he was supported by only 36 percent of white Protestants. This 17-percentage-point difference is even greater than the much touted gender gap of 11 percentage points. White Protestants gave 53 percent of their vote to Dole, but only 37 percent of Catholics did the same. As I mentioned in my earlier article, it is important to use only white Protestants in the comparison since Black Protestants are overwhelmingly Democratic and Catholics are overwhelmingly white. White Southerners also voted heavily for Dole (56 percent). Catholics also voted overwhelmingly Democratic in congressional races. Fifty-four percent of Catholics voted for House Democrats and 46 percent voted for House Republicans. By comparison, white Protestants voted 38 percent Democratic and 62 percent Republican. Two years ago, a majority (53 percent) of Catholics voted for House Republicans for the first time in decades. Catholics came home to the Democratic Party in 1996, but white Protestants did not. It is now clear that 1994 marked a sea change in American politics. The Democrats have lost their grip on the solid South not only in presidential elections but also in House races. Southern urban areas will continue to vote Democratic but the rural South is lost to the Democratic party. Southern whites, who considered it a sin to vote for the party of Lincoln, have begun electing Republicans to replace the conservative Democrats that ruled the House of Representatives. The result is much more ideologically pure political parties, the Republicans being conservative and the Democrats being liberal. It also marks the end of the conservative coalition (Republicans and Southern Democrats) who controlled most major legislation (taxes and spending on welfare and the military) in the House. Now Southern Republicans with their Northern counterparts will be the power bloc in Congress in the coming years. Political scientists and historians will study the 1994 and 1996 elections in the years to come. Why did the Democrats lose the South? Was it their support for civil rights and affirmative action? Was it court drawn congressional districts aimed at ensuring the election of Black representatives? Was it the growing number of Southern Blacks who run as Democrats in the South? Was it the identification of the Democratic Party as the party of Washington. One thing is clear, White Southerners and White Protestants are not comfortable with today's Democratic Party even when it is headed by a White Southern Protestant. See also: "Catholic Voters: Pulled in Two Directions," America, November 2, 1996 1996 Election: The Values Behind the Issues, Woodstock Report, October 1996, No. 47 Woodstock Church Studies Bibliography of Thomas J. Reese, S.J.