Dear John,
What a night!
With the help of tens of thousands of CV supporters, CatholicVote was proud to be a part of an historic Election Day in America. You can be proud that the Catholic voice was heard from North Carolina to Alaska -- and that it made a difference!
Here are a few quick takes that we find most fascinating:
What a night!
With the help of tens of thousands of CV supporters, CatholicVote was proud to be a part of an historic Election Day in America. You can be proud that the Catholic voice was heard from North Carolina to Alaska -- and that it made a difference!
Here are a few quick takes that we find most fascinating:
- The ‘war on women’ lost BIG time. CV’s biggest target state was Colorado where Democratic Mark Udall was the face of the fake propaganda strategy with women. Reports show approximately 47% of his ads were focused on abortion and contraception! And yet he was soundly defeated. Separately in Iowa, CV-endorsed Joni Ernst explicitly called the ‘war on women’ phony. She stood her ground and won handily, garnering nearly 50% of the women’s vote. Finally in Texas, abortion “barbie” candidate Wendy Davis LOST both her election bid and the women’s vote 52-47. We are proud to have supported pro-life Catholic Greg Abbott -- the FIRST Catholic governor of Texas!
- According to NY Times exit polling, the generic ‘Catholic vote’ went 53-45 to Republicans. This isn’t a significant shift from 2010 where pro-life candidates were also largely victorious. The clear lesson however is that Catholic swings in voting nearly always determine the winner. Despite this, we must realize that we have a lot of work to do in presidential election years with our brothers and sisters in the pews.
- While everyone is focused on the Senate (including us), Republicans scored an equally big victory in many states. The GOP won governors races in states Obama won twice: Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maine (in addition to holding red seats in Kansas, Texas, and Arizona to name but a few). Republicans flipped several state legislatures, including taking control of the New Mexico House for the first time since the 1950’s. While several of these Republicans do not share our priorities, in each of these cases a strident pro-abortion alternative was defeated. And in some states new opportunities are now open for further progress on life and marriage.
- Can you believe this? Just weeks before the election, Maine's Governor Paul LePage boldly said: “I am against the killing of babies” in abortions. The voters in deep-blue Maine elected him to a second term!
- Pro-life Catholic stalwart Sam Brownback won a tough re-election in Kansas. Praise God!
- Texas governor-elect Greg Abbott and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinezgarnered big support from Hispanics. Smart Republicans should pay attention to what they did - and are doing.
- Proudly pro-life candidate Mia Love in Utah became the first black Republican woman elected to the U.S. House. Tim Scott became the first black person elected to the Senate from the Deep South, and he's a pro-life Republican.
- Republicans have won at least 243 seats in the U.S. House and are projected to have their largest House majority since the 1920’s.
- CV-backed Dan Sullivan -- a pro-life Catholic -- appears likely to unseat sitting U.S. Senator -- and pro-abortion "Catholic" -- Mark Begich in Alaska. (Absentee ballots have not yet been tallied.) This was another target state for CV, and we predict it will be another victory!
On a day like this, it bears repeating: politics isn’t a cure all. The country isn’t about to undergo an instant revolution or fundamentally change tomorrow. You and I both know that the electorate shifts year-to-year, and the real work of building a culture of life and love happens every day, not just on Election Day.
But politics remains an important part of helping make possible the conditions so that this cultural renewal can be pursued. Those hostile to the Church must be kept at bay so that families, churches, homeschools, private schools and so much more can do the real work of raising, educating and transforming lives that will be the future of America.
The fight for life, family, faith and freedom continues. The real work actually begins today. As these candidates pivot from campaigning to governing, you can count on CV being right in the middle of the fight.
Thank you truly for all that you do to make our work possible.
- Brian, Josh, Kara, Elizabeth, Thomas, Pat, Shane and your CV Team
