RELIGION HEADLINES

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(SRN NEWS) – A Republican group is undertaking a new effort this year to do door-to-door outreach to those Jewish voters who have a history of backing GOP candidates. The Republican Jewish Coalition is focusing on five battleground states to boost Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in the November 5th election. Surveys show that Jews vote Democrat most of the time. But the group is hoping that the door-knocking will peel off enough votes to make a difference in a tight election year when the war between Israel and Hamas has stoked debate and provoked division.

Nationally, Catholic voters have been a crucial swing constituency in recent presidential elections. This year, in the vital state of Pennsylvania, they’ll likely comprise at least a quarter of the electorate — and thus play a pivotal role in deciding the overall outcome. Many are supporting former President Donald Trump, citing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for abortion and for the LGBT agenda. Catholics are becoming an important constituency for the former president, turning out in significant numbers for him in 2016 and 2020.

The groups promoting abortion amendments on the ballots in 10 states have outraised their opponents by more than 6-to-1 and are spending far more on ads. The majority of the money is being raised and spent around the question before voters in Florida. There’s been an influx of campaign funding in South Dakota too. That includes money from national abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood for the first time. However, South Dakota is the only state where pro-lifers have significantly out-raised supporters of the abortion amendment.

Democrats in Florida are hoping amendments that would promote abortion and legalize marijuana will boost their turnout on Election Day. However, the number of voters registered as Democrats has tumbled in recent years in the state, effectively placing it firmly in the red column. The GOP steadily narrowed the Democratic Party’s lead in voter registrations in Florida for about a decade, finally surpassing Democrats’ plurality of active registered voters in 2021.  Democrats used to make up 40 percent of active voters — now it’s just 32 percent.