Record number of Catholics run for presidency in 2016

John F. Kennedy first, only Catholic to be commander-in-chief of the United States

Published: July 28, 2015

By Chaz Muth
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — The onetime stigma of being a Catholic for those seeking national office appears to have disappeared in the 2016 presidential election cycle since a record number of candidates have declared their candidacy or expressed an interest in running for the highest office in the country.

Twelve Catholics have said they are interested in running, seven of whom have already declared their candidacy.

“It’s going to be a Catholic year for candidates running for the presidency,” said Stephen F. Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington. “So, it’s historic.”

Catholics who have declared their candidacy include:

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum

Former New York Gov. George Pataki

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

Catholics who have expressed an interest in running include Vice President Joe Biden, former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Iowa Rep. Steve King and New York Rep. Pete King. Though Schweitzer and the two Kings have not ruled out a run, it appears unlikely they will launch a campaign.

“There’s never been a (U.S. presidential) election with this many Catholics running as this year,” Schneck told Catholic News Service in an interview. “Historically, there’s been a gradual increase in the number of Catholic candidates for the office, but 2016 is going to be a Catholic year.”

The political landscape has drastically changed since the U.S. Constitution was ratified 228 years ago and Catholics have assimilated in all aspects of American society.

The first U.S. Catholic presidential candidate was Democratic New York Gov. Al Smith in 1928.

President John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic to be elected. No other Catholic has won the presidency since.