Poll: Harris’ voters are boosted by democracy, Trump’s by immigration and inflation

WASHINGTON— The voters for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump who cast their ballots in Tuesday’s presidential election had starkly different motivations — reflecting broader national divisions over the problems facing the United States.

AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide, found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change as Americans faced a stark choice between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris . As it turned out, the fate of democracy seemed to be a major motivator for Harris’ supporters. It was a sign of the Democratic nominee’s continued messaging in the closing days of her campaign Accusing Trump of being a fascist perhaps broken through.

Trump’s supporters, by contrast, have been largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues the former Republican president has been harping on since the start of his campaign. Trump has promised that rates would bring back factory jobs and that greater domestic oil production would flow through the economy and drive down prices.

The conflicting views pose a challenge to whoever wins the election to lead the world’s leading economic and military power. Voters saw the qualities of each candidate differently. They were more likely to describe Trump as a strong leader than Harris, but she had an edge over him because she was seen as someone in charge moral character should become president.

Candidates raise a range of issues, but voters focus on a few

About two-thirds of Harris voters said the future of democracy was the most important factor influencing their voting behavior. No other topic – high prices, abortion policythe future of free speech in the country or the potential of electing the first female president – ​​was an equally big factor for her supporters.

Trump’s voters, meanwhile, were largely motivated by economic issues immigration. About half of Trump voters said high prices were the biggest problem in their election decisions. About as much as many said about the situation at the US-Mexico border. Only about 1 in 4 said Trump’s assassination attempts were the most important factor in their vote. About 1 in 10 said that about the lawsuits against him. However, those were secondary issues for his voters.

Trump’s proposed tariffs on allies and enemies alike, as well as the mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants, resonated with his supporters. About half of his supporters identified the economy and jobs as the most important issue facing the country, while a third said immigration was the most important issue.

Harris’ base, by contrast, focused on a broader range of issues. About 3 in 10 cited the economy as a top issue, while about 2 in 10 cited abortion and about 1 in 10 cited health care or climate change.

Most Trump and Harris voters were motivated to support their candidate

Both candidates generated loyalty among their coalitions, a change from four years ago, when Trump was ousted from the White House by President Biden.

In 2020, about half of Biden’s supporters said their vote was cast for him in opposition to Trump, and about half said their vote was for Biden. This year, about two-thirds of Harris voters said they were motivated to vote for her. Only about a third voted against Trump.

Enthusiasm for Trump within his base remained stable. As in 2020, about 8 in 10 Trump voters said they cast their ballots as a sign of support for him, rather than simply opposing his opponent.

Voters give Harris an edge on moral character, Trump on being a strong leader

The candidates had different strengths in the eyes of voters. Just over half of voters said Harris has the moral character to be president, compared with about four-in-ten who said that about Trump.

Nearly six in 10 said Trump lacked the moral character to be president, a reflection of his criminal convictions, his often inflammatory rhetoricare sexist comments and actions and his denial of the results of the 2020 presidential election that fueled the insurrection of January 6, 2021. Less than half said Harris did not have the morals to be president.

But voters gave Trump an edge as a strong leader. Just over half of voters described Trump as a strong leader, and just under half said the same about Harris.

About six-in-ten said Harris has the mental capacity to serve effectively as president, compared with about half who said that about Trump. But voters were divided over whether either candidate could handle a crisis. They were similarly divided over who would bring positive change.

Trump’s supporters want an upheaval, while Harris’ favorability changes

About four in 10 Trump voters said they sought complete and utter upheaval in the way the country is run, a response that suggests potential support for a dramatic overhaul of the federal government that Trump has promised to achieve by cutting regulations which will put pressure on more federal agencies. its direct control and reworking of the tax code.

Just under two in ten Harris supporters saw the need for a complete overhaul, although most did not want to maintain the status quo. Majorities of both candidates’ supporters said they would like to see substantial change, but Harris’ voters were more likely to say they favored a small amount of change.

Book and Sanders write for the Associated Press. AP reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report. AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, PBS NewsHour, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. The survey of more than 110,000 voters lasted eight days and ended when the polling stations closed. The interviews took place in English and Spanish. The survey combines a random sample of registered voters from state voter files; self-identified registered voters using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population; and self-identified registered voters selected from online panels who are not likely to vote. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated at plus or minus 0.4 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCast’s methodology at https://ap.org/votecast.