- Associated Press - Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Voters in Utah 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 49% of Utah voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 50% 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 1,696 voters and 359 nonvoters in Utah — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

TRUMP VS BIDEN

In the race for president, Trump was roughly even with Biden among voters under 45. Older voters were more likely to prefer Trump.

Both voters without a college degree and college-educated voters were more likely to support Trump.

Voters in cities were more likely to back Biden. Both suburban voters and voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to prefer Trump over Biden.

RACE FOR GOVERNOR

In the race for governor, Spencer Cox was preferred over Chris Peterson among both voters under 45 and older voters.

Cox was preferred over Peterson among both voters without a college degree and college-educated voters.

Both suburban voters and voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to prefer Cox over Peterson while voters in cities 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, 19% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 35% 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 Utah. Thirty-seven percent said the economy is the most important issue facing the country today. Thirty-five percent named the coronavirus pandemic.

Seven percent named health care, 5% named climate change and 4% named racism.

NATIONAL ECONOMY

Voters were slightly positive in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 55% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 45% called them not so good or poor.

STAYING AT HOME

Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Utah, 25% said that was because they don’t like politics generally, 23% said their vote doesn’t matter and 13% said they don’t know enough about the candidates’ positions.

In Utah, 79% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 82% 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 1,696 voters in Utah 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 3.2 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCast’s methodology at https://ap.org/votecast.

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Online:

For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. presidential elections: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020

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