Voters in Colorado 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 Colorado 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 2,995 voters and 806 nonvoters in Colorado — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
TRUMP VS BIDEN
In the race for president, Biden led Trump among voters under 45. Biden and Trump were roughly even among older voters.
Both white voters and Latino voters were more likely to favor Biden.
College-educated voters were more likely to support Biden over Trump while voters without a college degree were divided between Biden and Trump.
Biden led Trump among both voters in cities and suburban voters but voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to prefer Trump over Biden.
RACE FOR SENATE
In the race for U.S. Senate, John Hickenlooper led Cory Gardner among voters under 45 but Gardner was neck and neck with Hickenlooper among older voters.
White voters leaned toward Hickenlooper over Gardner. Latino voters were more likely to back Hickenlooper.
Hickenlooper had an advantage among college-educated voters. Voters without a college degree were split between Gardner and Hickenlooper.
Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to support Gardner over Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper was preferred among both voters in cities and suburban voters.
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 30% said it’s somewhat under control. Fifty-three 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 Colorado. Thirty-eight 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.
Nine percent named climate change, 8% named health care and 7% named racism.
NATIONAL ECONOMY
Voters were more negative than positive in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 42% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 58% called them not so good or poor.
STAYING AT HOME
Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Colorado, 31% said that was because they don’t like politics generally, 19% said they don’t like the candidates and 16% said their vote doesn’t matter.
In Colorado, 61% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 64% 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 2,995 voters in Colorado 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 2.3 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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