Voters in North Carolina 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 41% of North Carolina voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 58% 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 3,731 voters and 701 nonvoters in North Carolina — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
TRUMP VS BIDEN
In the race for president, Biden had an advantage over Trump among voters under 45 but Trump was preferred among older voters.
Black voters were more likely to support Biden. Trump led among white voters.
Biden was preferred among college-educated voters but voters without a college degree were more likely to back Trump over Biden.
Both voters in cities and suburban voters were more likely to favor Biden over Trump but voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to favor Trump over Biden.
RACE FOR SENATE
In the race for U.S. Senate, Cal Cunningham had an apparent advantage over Thom Tillis among voters under 45 but Tillis led among older voters.
Black voters were more likely to favor Cunningham over Tillis while white voters were more likely to prefer Tillis.
College-educated voters appeared to prefer Cunningham over Tillis while Tillis had an advantage among voters without a college degree.
Cunningham had an advantage among both voters in cities and suburban voters while voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to back Tillis over Cunningham.
RACE FOR GOVERNOR
In the race for governor, Cooper had an advantage over Forest among voters under 45. Roy Cooper appeared to lead Dan Forest among older voters.
Black voters were more likely to prefer Cooper while white voters were more likely to support Forest.
Cooper had an advantage among college-educated voters but voters without a college degree were split.
Cooper led among both voters in cities and suburban voters. Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to back Forest.
FACING THE PANDEMIC
The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 18% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 33% said it’s somewhat under control. Forty-nine 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 North Carolina. Forty-one percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.
Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 28% saying it ranked at the top.
Ten percent named health care, 8% named racism and 4% named law enforcement.
NATIONAL ECONOMY
Voters were more negative than positive in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 44% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 56% called them not so good or poor.
STAYING AT HOME
Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in North Carolina, 25% said that was because they don’t like politics generally, 15% said they are concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus and 14% said they don’t like the candidates.
In North Carolina, 77% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 82% did not have a college degree.
—-
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 3,731 voters in North Carolina 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 1.9 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCast’s methodology at https://ap.org/votecast.
—-
Online:
For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. presidential elections: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020
Please read our comment policy before commenting.