text: Recent Catholic Voting History:
  
  --President George W. Bush won the Catholic vote, 52 percent to 47 percent, in his 2004 re-election effort, according to exit polls from that cycle. President Barack Obama won the group (which made up 27 percent of the electorate, according to exit polling), 54 percent to 45 percent, during his bid for the White House in 2008.
  
  But to call the Catholic vote a pure bellwether would be a mistake; the determination of an individual’s vote is more likely in 2012 to turn on more common political variables (like income, education, or ethnicity) – than simple religious identity. nBC
  
  --Catholics - the country's largest religious group with one-quarter of the population - have supported the winner of the popular vote in every election since 1972. Reuters/Ipsos exit polling found that 51 percent of Catholics favored President Barack Obama, compared with 48 percent for Republican contender Reuters