Voters in New Jersey made their pick for president while holding negative 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 35% of New Jersey voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 65% 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 2,477 voters and 551 nonvoters in New Jersey — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
TRUMP VS BIDEN
In the race for president, Biden was preferred over Trump among both voters under 45 and older voters.
Biden appeared to lead among voters without a college degree. College-educated voters were more likely to prefer Biden over Trump.
Both voters in cities and suburban voters were more likely to support Biden but Trump had an edge among voters in small towns and rural areas.
RACE FOR SENATE
In the race for U.S. Senate, Cory Booker had an advantage over Rikin ’Rik’ Mehta among both voters under 45 and older voters.
Voters without a college degree leaned toward Booker. College-educated voters were more likely to favor Booker over Mehta.
Both voters in cities and suburban voters were more likely to support Booker over Mehta but Mehta had an edge over Booker among voters in small towns and rural areas.
FACING THE PANDEMIC
The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 16% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 28% said it’s somewhat under control. Fifty-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 New Jersey. Forty-three percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.
Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 26% saying it ranked at the top.
Ten percent named health care, 9% named racism and 4% named law enforcement.
NATIONAL ECONOMY
Voters were more negative than positive in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 39% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 61% called them not so good or poor.
STAYING AT HOME
Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in New Jersey, 23% said that was because they don’t like politics generally, 18% said they don’t like the candidates and 17% said their vote doesn’t matter.
In New Jersey, 69% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 73% 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 2,477 voters in New Jersey 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 2.4 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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