AP VoteCast: Maine voters sour on state of nation

Voters in Maine 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 37% of Maine voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 62% 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 1,888 voters and 184 nonvoters in Maine -- conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

TRUMP VS BIDEN

In the race for president, Voters under 45 appeared to prefer Biden over Trump. Biden and Trump were about even among older voters.

Biden had an advantage over Trump among college-educated voters while voters without a college degree were more likely to back Trump over Biden.

Suburban voters were more likely to prefer Biden while Biden was about tied with Trump among voters in small towns and rural areas.

RACE FOR SENATE

In the race for U.S. Senate, Voters under 45 were split between Sara Gideon and Susan Collins but older voters were more likely to back Collins.

Collins had an advantage over Gideon among voters without a college degree while Gideon was preferred among college-educated voters.

Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to prefer Collins over Gideon. Suburban voters were more likely to favor Gideon over Collins.

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 28% said it’s somewhat under control. Fifty-two 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 Maine. Forty-one percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.

Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 27% saying it ranked at the top.

Ten percent named health care, 8% named climate change and 4% 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 59% 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 1,888 voters in Maine 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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For AP's complete coverage of the U.S. presidential elections: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020