NCR Podcast: The 2018 midterm elections and the Catholic vote

In recent weeks, NCR reporters have been traveling across the country to understand Catholic voters and what will influence their vote.

On the show today:

• Michael Sean Winters, who analyzes religion and politics for NCR.
• Heidi Schlumpf, NCR national correspondent based in Chicago.
• Brian Roewe, NCR staff writer.
• Maria Benevento, NCR Bertelsen intern.

Background reading:

• In a recent Distinctly Catholic column, Michael Sean Winters examines a new report that points to the majority of Americans who resent the dominance of the extremes in U.S. public discussion. Part two of his midterms series looks at a current polling and some of the institutionalized hurdles to change. His third column on the midterm elections underlines the mood: "In the midterms this year, however, issues don't matter. The president is running on fear. "
• Swing voters in Ohio — many of them Catholic — will likely determine the winner of a dead-heat midterm congressional race that observers see as a possible predictor of the 2020 presidential election, reports Heidi Schlumpf.
• Maria Benevento reports from El Paso: In response to low voter turnout, local Catholic leaders and advocates are working to promote voting, which some characterize as both an exercise of the moral duty to promote justice and a way to ensure that the concerns of all — including those who are most vulnerable and marginalized — are included in political decision-making. Latinos, who make up the majority of Catholics under 18 and are likely the future majority of the church, might be the answer sought by those concerned with representing the totality of Catholic teaching in politics.
• Watch this space: On Monday, we'll publish and link here to Brian Roewe's piece on midterm concerns in Iowa that show a rural-urban split.