Pew Research Center Staff

Nearly half of all American Catholics under age 30 are Hispanic (45%).

Fewer than one-in-four Republicans (23%) now rate economic conditions as excellent or good, substantially fewer than did so a few months ago.

Analysis of Pew surveys conducted in late February and March finds Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama running equally well against Sen. John McCain among voters in the big swing states of Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania; Obama led McCain 52% to 40% among a representative sample of voters living in these states, while Clinton bested McCain by a statistically comparable 51%-to-42% margin.

A relatively large minority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (40%) say they have come to feel more favorably toward GOP presidential nominee John McCain in recent days.

About three-in-ten Americans (31%) say their opinion of Hillary Clinton has grown less favorable in recent days, including 28% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents; by comparison, 24% of Americans -- and only 13% of Democrats and Democratic leaners -- report less favorable views of Barack Obama.

Pre-recorded campaign calls, or "robo-calls," have become the leading form of campaign communication in the 2008 primary season with 39% of voters nationwide saying they have received at least one.

Catholics are the largest religious community in Pennsylvania, making up 29% of the state’s adult population, followed by mainline Protestants at 25% and evangelical Protestants at 18%. White Catholics have been a pillar of Hillary Clinton's voter coalition in her big-state victories to date.

While the Clinton-Obama face-off in today’s Pennsylvania primary has claimed the bulk of media coverage, far more Americans -- 36% -- say the news they have been hearing about GOP presidential candidate John McCain is generally positive than say that about either of the two Democratic candidates.

Just 11% of the public rates the economy as excellent or good, down from 17% in early February, and 26% in January.

Nearly one-in-three (31%) US adults with less than a high school education are members of evangelical Protestant churches.