Voters in New Mexico 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 36% of New Mexico voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 64% 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 1,654 voters and 185 nonvoters in New Mexico — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
TRUMP VS BIDEN
In the race for president, Voters under 45 were more likely to back Biden over Trump. Biden had an apparent advantage among older voters.
Latino voters were more likely to back Biden but Biden and Trump were about tied among white voters.
Voters without a college degree leaned toward Biden over Trump. Biden led among college-educated voters.
Both voters in cities and suburban voters were more likely to support Biden. Biden and Trump were roughly even among voters in small towns and rural areas.
RACE FOR SENATE
In the race for U.S. Senate, Voters under 45 appeared to prefer Ben Ray Lujan over Mark Ronchetti but Lujan and Ronchetti were roughly even among older voters.
Latino voters were more likely to prefer Lujan. White voters leaned toward Ronchetti.
College-educated voters were more likely to support Lujan over Ronchetti but Lujan and Ronchetti were neck and neck among voters without a college degree.
Suburban voters appeared to prefer Lujan. Voters in cities were more likely to prefer Lujan over Ronchetti. Ronchetti and Lujan were neck and neck 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, 17% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 25% said it’s somewhat under control. Fifty-seven 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 Mexico. Thirty-nine percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.
Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 29% saying it ranked at the top.
Seven percent named climate change, 7% named health care and 6% named racism.
NATIONAL ECONOMY
Voters were more negative than positive in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 40% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 60% 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 1,654 voters in New Mexico 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 3.6 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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