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AP VoteCast: Minnesota voters sour on state of nation

Bernard Condon | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years AGO
by Bernard Condon
| November 3, 2020 3:27 PM

Voters in Minnesota 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 36% of Minnesota voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 64% 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 132,000 voters and nonvoters -- including 3,604 voters and 449 nonvoters in Minnesota -- 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 while Biden was about even with Trump among older voters.

College-educated voters were more likely to prefer Biden but voters without a college degree were split between Trump and Biden.

Biden led among both voters in cities and suburban voters. 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, Tina Smith had an advantage over Jason Lewis among voters under 45 but older voters were divided.

Smith had an advantage over Lewis among college-educated voters while Smith and Lewis were about tied among voters without a college degree.

Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to favor Lewis but Smith was preferred over Lewis 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, 18% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 29% 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 Minnesota. Forty-three percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.

Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 25% saying it ranked at the top.

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

NATIONAL ECONOMY

Voters were more negative than positive in their assessments of the nation's economy. Overall, 43% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 57% called them not so good or poor.

STAYING AT HOME

Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Minnesota, 25% said that was because they don't like politics generally, 19% said they don't like the candidates and 11% said they don't know enough about the candidates' positions.

In Minnesota, 74% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 83% 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 3,604 voters in Minnesota 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 2.1 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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