Voters in Montana 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 Montana 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 1,135 voters and 137 nonvoters in Montana — 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. Older voters were more likely to support Trump over Biden.
Biden led among college-educated voters but voters without a college degree were more likely to back Trump over Biden.
Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to back Trump but suburban voters were divided.
RACE FOR SENATE
In the race for U.S. Senate, Voters under 45 modestly preferred Steve Bullock over Steve Daines but older voters were more likely to back Daines.
College-educated voters were more likely to favor Bullock over Daines while voters without a college degree were more likely to prefer Daines.
Daines had an advantage over Bullock among voters in small towns and rural areas. Suburban voters were divided.
RACE FOR GOVERNOR
In the race for governor, Voters under 45 were divided between Mike Cooney and Greg Gianforte but older voters were more likely to favor Gianforte over Cooney.
Cooney led among college-educated voters but voters without a college degree were more likely to back Gianforte.
Gianforte had an advantage over Cooney among voters in small towns and rural areas. Suburban voters were divided.
FACING THE PANDEMIC
The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 25% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 29% said it’s somewhat under control. Forty-six percent of voters think the coronavirus is not at all under control in this country.
ON THE ISSUES
The economy and the coronavirus pandemic were top of mind for many voters in Montana. Thirty-two percent said the economy is the most important issue facing the country today. Thirty-one percent named the coronavirus pandemic.
Nine percent named health care, 7% named climate change and 6% named abortion.
NATIONAL ECONOMY
Voters were slightly positive in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 54% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 46% called them not so good or poor.
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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 1,135 voters in Montana 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 4.2 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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