Catholics Must Vote in the Midterms, and the Choice Should Be the Republican Party
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "Catholics Have a Moral Obligation to Vote in the Midterm Elections | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." November 1, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author says Catholic teaching makes voting a moral duty, so Catholics can't sit out the midterms. He then argues that only the Republican Party defends Catholic values, while the Democrats are out to destroy them, so the choice for Catholics should be obvious.
Conclusion
American Catholics have a moral obligation to vote in the midterm elections, and because the Republican Party is the only political force defending Christian moral principles, Catholics should vote Republican.
Premises
- Catholic teaching (the Catechism, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine, and the USCCB's Faithful Citizenship) holds that voting is a moral duty of responsible citizenship tied to promoting the common good.
- In a democracy where citizens directly shape the common good, voting is the means by which Catholics fulfil their duty to contribute to it.
- There is no moral vacuum: if Catholics do not shape the culture and law, their opponents will.
- The Republican Party, though flawed, is the only major political force opposing abortion, gender transition procedures for minors, illegal immigration, and the denigration of Christianity, and it is the chief vehicle for implementing Christian moral principles in law.
- The Democratic Party champions abortion, gender transition for minors, and open borders, tolerates or celebrates political violence, and is thereby dedicated to destroying what Catholics hold dear.
- Republican flaws can be rectified, whereas the Democratic Party's aims are fundamentally hostile to the Christian West.
Assumptions
- Catholic teaching on the duty to vote implies a duty to vote for the party that best aligns with a specific set of Catholic moral priorities.
- Abortion, gender transition for minors, immigration restriction, and cultural defense of Christianity are the decisive issues for Catholic voters, outweighing other Catholic social teaching concerns such as poverty, migrants' dignity, and the death penalty.
- The characterizations of Democratic and Republican positions given by the author are accurate and representative of the parties and their voters.
- A two-party framing is appropriate, with no morally acceptable third option or abstention.
- Imperfect Republican implementation does not undermine the claim that voting Republican advances Christian moral principles.
- Political and legal power is an appropriate and effective instrument for advancing Catholic moral aims.