Donald Trump prevailed in Wisconsin on Tuesday by rolling up overwhelming support from white men and political independents, while making inroads among groups that were vital for Hillary Clinton. Here’s a look at preliminary results from exit polling conducted in Wisconsin for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.
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RACE AND GENDER
Trump took about six in 10 votes among white men, while battling Clinton to a draw among white women. Women overall favored Clinton, but more than four in 10 went with Trump.
About nine in 10 women and six in 10 Hispanics supported Clinton.
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GENERATION GAP
Clinton won among voters ages 18-44 while Trump carried the 45-and-older group, which made up about 60 percent of the overall electorate.
Yet voters in the youngest subgroup - ages 18-24 - were evenly divided. Clinton was strongest among ages 30-39, while Trump did best among ages 50-64.
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ECONOMIC PESSIMISM
More than half of Wisconsin voters rated the economy as the top issue facing the nation, while smaller groups picked terrorism, foreign policy or immigration. Trump did well among the six in 10 voters who described the economy as poor or “not good.”
He also carried a majority of the four in 10 who predicted things would go downhill for the next generation.
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A MATTER OF CHARACTER
Trump overcame doubts about his fitness for the presidency. Nearly two-thirds of voters - and about one-quarter of his own supporters - said he was unqualified. Most also said he lacked the needed temperament. Clinton scored better in both areas. But voters gave both candidates negative ratings and said they were dishonest.
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INCOME AND EDUCATION
Education levels produced another stark contrast. A majority of voters had no college degree, and nearly six in 10 of them favored Trump. Clinton won among college graduates, but they made up a smaller share of the total.
Voters in most income groups were about evenly divided. But Trump prevailed among the one-third of voters in the $50,000-$100,000 bracket.
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PARTY AND PHILOSOPHY
Roughly the same number of voters described themselves as Republicans or Democrats, and about nine in 10 of those supported their nominee. But Trump won easily among the three in 10 independents. Moderates and liberals backed Clinton, while Trump carried more than eight in 10 conservatives.
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RELIGION AND MARRIAGE
Trump won comfortably among the nearly three in 10 voters who attend religious services weekly or more often, while Clinton did well with the one-quarter who never attend. About three-quarters of white evangelicals favored Trump.
Married men favored Trump by nearly two-to-one, while married women and unmarried men were about evenly divided. Unmarried women favored Clinton.
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RACE AND IMMIGRATION
About four in 10 Wisconsin voters said whites generally are favored in the U.S., while one-quarter said minorities are favored and one-third said no group gets special treatment.
Nearly six in 10 said immigrants help the U.S., while about one-third said they hurt. About seven in 10 said immigrants working illegally in the U.S. should be offered a chance to apply for legal status, while one-quarter said they should be deported.
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HEALTH AND TRADE
Nearly half of the state’s voters said the 2010 health care law known as “Obamacare” had gone too far, while three in 10 said it hadn’t gone far enough.
About half said trade with other nations takes away American jobs, while about one-third said it creates jobs and about one in 10 said it makes no difference.
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WHAT MATTERS MOST
About four in 10 Wisconsin voters said the most important quality for the next president was to bring about needed change, instead of having experience or good judgment. More than eight in 10 of them backed Trump.
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WHAT ABOUT OBAMA?
A slight majority voiced approval of Barack Obama’s job performance, but more than half said the next president should pursue more conservative policies.
Nearly three-quarters of voters gave the federal government a negative rating. They overwhelmingly backed Trump.
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The survey of 3,047 Wisconsin voters was conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research. This includes preliminary results from interviews conducted as voters left a random sample of 50 precincts statewide Tuesday, as well as 358 who voted early or absentee and were interviewed by landline or cellular telephone from Oct. 28 through Nov. 6. Results for the full sample were subject to sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points; it is higher for subgroups.
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