Judicial Confessions: John F. Kerry, Catholics, and the Supreme Court

Kevin J. McMahon

doi:10.2202/1540-8884.1042

Article

Judicial Confessions: John F. Kerry, Catholics, and the Supreme Court

Kevin J. McMahon

Published/Copyright: October 5, 2004

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Author Information Explore this Subject

From the journal The Forum Volume 2 Issue 3

In 1960, approximately 80 percent of Catholic voters supported John F. Kennedy’s successful bid for the White House. But beginning in the 1968 presidential election, the Catholic vote shifted. Since 1972, it has consistently been a near mirror image of the popular vote. This shift was partially inspired by a series of Supreme Court decisions that disappointed traditional Catholic Democrats who in turn found Republican presidential candidates stressing “the social issue” more appealing. However, despite making eleven of the last thirteen appointments, Republican presidents have failed to construct a thoroughly conservative Supreme Court on social and cultural matters. In this essay, I consider how this failure will affect the candidacy of President George W. Bush and explore whether it will offer John F. Kerry—the first Catholic presidential nominee of a major party since John Kennedy—an opportunity to increase the Democratic Party’s share of the Catholic vote.

Keywords: presidential race; Catholics; Supreme Court

Published Online: 2004-10-5

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.2202/1540-8884.1042

Keywords for this article

presidential race; Catholics; Supreme Court