Voters in Texas 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 44% of Texas voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 55% 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 3,888 voters and 792 nonvoters in Texas — 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 but older voters were more likely to prefer Trump over Biden.
Both Black voters and Latino voters were more likely to favor Biden while Trump had an advantage among white voters.
Trump had an edge over Biden among college-educated voters. Trump was preferred among voters without a college degree.
Biden was preferred among voters in cities. Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to favor Trump over Biden. Biden and Trump were about even among suburban voters.
RACE FOR SENATE
In the race for U.S. Senate, Mary ’MJ’ Hegar had an advantage over John Cornyn among voters under 45. Older voters were more likely to back Cornyn over Hegar.
White voters were more likely to support Cornyn while Hegar had an advantage over Cornyn among both Black voters and Latino voters.
Both voters without a college degree and college-educated voters were more likely to back Cornyn over Hegar.
Cornyn appeared to lead Hegar among suburban voters. Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to support Cornyn. Hegar was preferred among voters in cities.
FACING THE PANDEMIC
The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 23% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 32% said it’s somewhat under control. Forty-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 Texas. Thirty-seven percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.
Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 30% saying it ranked at the top.
Eight percent named health care, 8% named racism and 4% named law enforcement.
NATIONAL ECONOMY
Voters were closely divided in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 48% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 52% called them not so good or poor.
STAYING AT HOME
Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Texas, 21% said that was because they don’t like politics generally, 19% said they don’t like the candidates and 16% said they are concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus.
In Texas, 72% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 83% 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 3,888 voters in Texas 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.