WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump voters who cast their ballots in Tuesday’s presidential election had starkly different motivations — reflecting a broader national divide over the issues facing the United States.
AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 115,000 voters across the country, found that the fate of democracy appeared to be the main driving factor for Vice President Harris’ supporters. It was a sign that the Democratic candidate’s message in the final days of her campaign, in which she accused Trump of being a fascist, may have hit home.
In contrast, Trump’s supporters largely focused on immigration and inflation – two issues the former Republican president has addressed since the start of his campaign. Trump has promised that tariffs would bring back factory jobs and that greater domestic oil production would flow through the economy and drive down prices.
The conflicting views present whoever wins the election with the challenge of leading the world’s leading economic and military power. Voters judged each candidate’s qualities differently. They described Trump as more of a powerful leader than Harris, but she had an advantage over him because she was seen as having the moral character needed to be president.
Candidates raise a range of issues, but voters focus on a few
About two-thirds of Harris voters said the future of democracy was the most significant factor in their votes. No other issue – high prices, abortion policy, the future of free speech in the country or the possibility of electing the first female president – was as massive a factor for her supporters.
Trump voters were more motivated by economic issues and immigration. About half said high prices were the biggest problem in their voting decisions. About the same number said that about the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Only about a third of Trump voters said democracy was the most significant factor in their vote.
About one in four said the assassination attempts against Trump were the most significant factor in their vote, and about one in 10 said that was the case about the legal proceedings against him. For Trump voters, however, these were secondary issues.
Trump’s proposed tariffs on allies and enemies and the mass deportation of illegal immigrants were well received by his supporters. About half of his supporters called the economy and jobs the country’s biggest problems, while about a third said the biggest problem was immigration.
In contrast, Harris’ base focused on a broader range of issues. About 3 in 10 said the economy was a top issue, while about 2 in 10 said abortion and about 1 in 10 said health care or climate change.
Most Trump and Harris voters were motivated to support their candidate
Both candidates drew loyalty from their coalitions, a change from four years ago when Trump was ousted from the White House by Joe Biden.
In 2020, about half of Biden supporters said they would have voted for him in opposition to Trump, and about half said they would have voted for Biden. This year, about two-thirds of Harris voters said they were motivated to vote for her. Only about a third voted against Trump.
The enthusiasm for Trump among his base continued. Similar to 2020, about 8 in 10 Trump voters said they cast their vote as a show of support for him, not just to oppose his opponent.
Voters value Harris for his moral character and Trump as a powerful leader
The candidates had different strengths in the eyes of voters. Just over half of voters said Harris had the moral character to be president, compared to about four in 10 who said the same about Trump.
Nearly 6 in 10 said Trump lacked the moral character to be president, a reflection of his criminal beliefs, his often inflammatory rhetoric, his sexist statements and actions, and his denial of the results of the 2020 presidential election, which are reflected in the results of the March 6 presidential election January 2021. Revolt. A little less than half said Harris didn’t have the morals to be president.
But voters gave Trump the advantage of being a powerful leader. A little more than half of voters described Trump as a powerful leader, and a little less than half said the same about Harris.
About 6 in 10 said Harris had the mental ability to serve effectively as president, compared with about half who said the same about Trump. But voters were largely divided over whether either candidate could handle a crisis. They also disagreed about who would bring about positive change.
Trump’s supporters want change as Harris’ favor changes
About four in 10 Trump voters said they support a “complete and total shakeup” in the way the country is run. That response suggests potential support for a dramatic overhaul of the federal government, which Trump wants to achieve by eliminating regulations, putting more federal agencies under his direct control and overhauling the tax code.
Slightly fewer than two in 10 Harris supporters saw the need for complete change, although most did not want to maintain the status quo. Majorities of supporters of both candidates said they would like to see significant change, but Harris’ voters were more likely to say they favored petite change.
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AP reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report.
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AP VoteCast is a survey of American voters conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, PBS NewsHour, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. The survey of more than 115,000 voters lasted eight days and ended when the polls closed. The interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The survey combines a random sample of registered voters from state voter files; self-identified registered voters using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, designed to be representative of the U.S. population; and self-identified registered voters selected from non-probability online panels. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated to be plus or minus 0.4 percentage points. For more details on AP VoteCast methodology, visit https://ap.org/votecast.
