AP VoteCast: Minnesota voters sour on state of nation

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 37% of Minnesota 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 3,613 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 led Trump among voters under 45 while Trump was about even with Biden among older voters.

College-educated voters were more likely to prefer Biden over Trump but voters without a college degree leaned toward Trump over Biden.

Both voters in cities and suburban voters were more likely to back Biden over Trump but Trump had an advantage among voters in small towns and rural areas.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Tina Smith was preferred over Jason Lewis among voters under 45 while Lewis and Smith were roughly even among older voters.

College-educated voters were more likely to support Smith over Lewis but Lewis and Smith were neck and neck among voters without a college degree.

Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to prefer Lewis while Smith had an advantage 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-two percent of voters think the coronavirus is not at all under control in this country.

The coronavirus pandemic was top of mind for many voters in Minnesota. Forty-two 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.

Nine 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, 44% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 56% called them not so good or poor.

Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Minnesota, 26% 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 3,613 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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