AP VoteCast: Pennsylvania voters sour on state of nation
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 5 years, 10 months AGO
Voters in Pennsylvania 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 38% of Pennsylvania voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 61% 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 127,000 voters and nonvoters -- including 3,970 voters and 806 nonvoters in Pennsylvania -- conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
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 30% 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 Pennsylvania. Forty-two 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.
Eight percent named health care, 7% named racism and 4% named law enforcement.
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.
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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 3,970 voters in Pennsylvania 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 1.8 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/election2020