President Barack Obama won a slim majority of votes from self-identified Catholics, according to exit polls conduct by CNN.
The polls shows that 50% of voters who identified themselves as Catholics voted for Obama, and 48% for Republican nominee Mitt Romney. The CNN poll did not distinguish between active and lapsed Catholics.
Protestant voters swung heavily toward Romney, the CNN polls showed, with 57% choosing the Republican and only 42% voting to re-elect Obama. The initial reports on the CNN exit polls did not distinguish among the different Protestant denominations.
Among voters who said they had no religious affiliation, Obama was the overwhelming favorite, with a commanding 70-26% edge.
The CNN exit polls showed a clear preference for Romney (59- 39%) among voters who attended church services weekly, and an even more pronounced tilt toward Obama (62-34%) among those who never attended services.