Voters in Kansas made their pick for president while holding mixed views about the country’s direction, according to an expansive AP survey of the American electorate.
The race between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden concluded Tuesday as the nation remains in the throes of a global public health crisis and mired in the economic downturn it brought on. AP VoteCast found that 46% of Kansas voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 53% of voters said it is headed in the wrong direction.
Here’s a snapshot of who voted and what matters to them, based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of about 133,000 voters and nonvoters — including 1,445 voters and 282 nonvoters in Kansas — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
TRUMP VS BIDEN
In the race for president, Voters under 45 were split between Trump and Biden while older voters were more likely to support Trump over Biden.
Voters without a college degree were more likely to favor Trump over Biden but Biden was about even with Trump among college-educated voters.
Biden had an apparent advantage over Trump among suburban voters. Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to prefer Trump over Biden. Voters in cities were split.
RACE FOR SENATE
In the race for U.S. Senate, Voters under 45 were split between Roger Marshall and Barbara Bollier but Marshall had an advantage over Bollier among older voters.
Voters without a college degree were more likely to favor Marshall while Bollier and Marshall were about even among college-educated voters.
Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to support Marshall. Suburban voters modestly preferred Bollier. Voters in cities were split between Bollier and Marshall.
FACING THE PANDEMIC
The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 21% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 33% said it’s somewhat under control. Forty-five percent of voters think the coronavirus is not at all under control in this country.
ON THE ISSUES
The coronavirus pandemic was top of mind for many voters in Kansas. Thirty-eight percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.
Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 31% saying it ranked at the top.
Eight percent named health care, 5% named racism and 5% named abortion.
NATIONAL ECONOMY
Voters were closely divided in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 49% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 51% called them not so good or poor.
STAYING AT HOME
Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Kansas, 30% said that was because they don’t like politics generally, 24% said their vote doesn’t matter and 14% said they don’t like the candidates.
In Kansas, 77% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 84% did not have a college degree.
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AP created this story automatically using results from AP VoteCast, a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, NPR, PBS NewsHour, Univision News, USA Today Network, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. The survey of 1,445 voters in Kansas was conducted for eight days, concluding as polls closed. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The survey combines a random sample of registered voters drawn from the state voter file and self-identified registered voters selected from nonprobability online panels. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated to be plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCast’s methodology at https://ap.org/votecast.
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For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. presidential elections: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020
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