White voters who identify as evangelical Christians, a key bloc of support for President Trump in 2016, broke heavily for him again this week, according to exit polling data.
White evangelical and born-again Christian voters voted for the president 76 percent to 23 percent, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. However, the margin was down slightly from 2016, when exit polling indicated white evangelicals voted for Trump by a margin of 81 percent to 16 percent.
The 2016 numbers were the widest split since exit polling began including white evangelicals as a category in 2004.
The only group exit polling found with a higher percentage supporting the president were those who identified as Republicans or conservatives.
Those who identified the economy as the most important factor in their vote also supported Trump by a margin of 82 percent to 17 percent.
Trump’s support among the bloc has remained strong throughout his presidency despite some notable dissents. In October, Jerushah Duford, the granddaughter of evangelical leader Billy Graham and a backer of Democratic nominee Joe Biden, said evangelical support of Trump had “done significant damage to the way people view Jesus.”
In the mid-October press call, Duford also predicted an erosion of the president’s white evangelical support, saying “I do think we’re going to see a difference in the polls this time around, partly because I think a lot of people in 2016 went to vote kind of crossing their fingers, maybe holding their breath, hoping I make the right choice here.”