Harris voters motivated by democracy, Trump supporters by inflation and immigration

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

AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 115,000 voters nationwide, found that the fate of democracy appeared to be a major motivator for Vice President Harris’ supporters. It was a sign that the Democratic nominee accused Trump of doing so in the closing days of her campaign be 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 advantage over him because she was seen as someone in charge. moral character needed to be president.

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

About two-thirds of Harris voters said so future of democracy was the most important factor in their votes. 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 voters were more motivated by economic issues and immigration. About half 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 a third of Trump voters said democracy was the most important factor in their vote.

About 1 in 4 said Trump’s assassination attempts were the most important factor in their vote, and about 1 in 10 said that about the lawsuits against him. However, those were secondary issues for Trump 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 problem facing the country, while about a third said the biggest problem was immigration.

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 Joe 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 on him criminal convictionsare 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. Just under 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 roughly 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 favored a “complete and total upheaval” in the way the country is governed. That response suggests possible support for a dramatic overhaul of the federal government that Trump has promised to achieve by eliminating regulations and introducing more federal governments. agencies under his direct control and reworking 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.

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AP reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report.

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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 115,000 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.