Evangelical Electoral Behavior during 2016 and 2020 Presidential Elections in the United States

Abstract

Religious interference in the US elections has always been a matter of academic debate. In their turn and as a crucial religious group, Evangelicals form an important voting bloc for both Republican and Democrat candidates. This dissertation examines the electoral behavior of Evangelicals and their effect on the results of presidential elections in the country, taking the elections of 2016 and 2020 as a case study. It argues that President Trump enjoyed strong white Evangelical support during 2016, which was not affected neither by the Democrats' complaints against him, nor by the negative perceptions of his personal character. The present study goes further in analyzing factors behind such support that sparked controversy, as Trump does not know any verse of the Bible. White Evangelicals largely see Trump as fighting for their beliefs and advancing their interests; a reason to vote for him again in 2020. In addition, the dissertation sheds light on highlighting whether all members of the target religious group expressed the same voting behavior for Trump in both election dates or there were exceptions.