Washington D.C., Apr 17, 2008 / 07:06 am
With a record of favoring eight of the last nine presidential election winners and a population that makes up about 20 percent of the electorate, Catholic voters could swing the national election in November, CNN reports.
However, the political impact of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI is uncertain.
"Benedict XVI is not a superdelegate riding into town to deliver a key endorsement," noted John Allen, CNN's senior Vatican analyst. "On the other hand, I think it would also be terribly naive to think there's no political subtext to the Pope's presence in the United States."
Once a solidly Democratic constituency, the Catholic vote now routinely switches between Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.