Pew midterm report: Religious voters worry about economy; evangelicals stick with GOP

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(RNS) — No matter what they believe, American voters agree on one thing: The economy is in trouble. They’re also worried about democracy’s future. Few are happy with the way the country is going.

But America’s religious groups disagree on which party to vote for in the midterm congressional elections — with most faith groups preferring Democrats for the U.S. House of Representatives, save for white evangelicals and white Catholics.

Those are among the findings of a new survey from the Pew Research Center ahead of the 2026 midterm congressional elections.

“Overall, registered voters are more likely to support Democratic candidates than Republican ones,” Greg Smith, senior associate director of research at Pew, wrote after analyzing faith groups. “And registered voters who support Democratic candidates are more engaged in the election and more motivated to vote than those who back Republican candidates.”

Three-quarters of white evangelical Protestant voters (73%) and half of white Catholic voters told Pew they would vote for a Republican candidate in their congressional district if the…