AP VoteCast: Indiana voters mixed on state of nation

Voters in Indiana made their pick for president while holding mixed 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 47% of Indiana voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 52% 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 2,367 voters and 572 nonvoters in Indiana — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago. TRUMP VS BIDEN In the race for president, Trump had an apparent advantage over Biden among voters under 45. Older voters were more likely to favor Trump. Voters without a college degree were more likely to favor Trump while Trump was roughly even with Biden among college-educated voters. Voters in cities appeared to prefer Biden. Both suburban voters and voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to favor Trump. RACE FOR GOVERNOR In the race for governor, Eric Holcomb appeared to lead Woodrow ‘Woody’ Myers among voters under 45. Older voters were more likely to back Holcomb over Myers. Holcomb led Myers among both voters without a college degree and college-educated voters. Both suburban voters and voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to favor Holcomb while voters in cities were split. FACING THE PANDEMIC The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 21% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 33% said it’s somewhat under control. Forty-six 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 Indiana. Thirty-seven percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today. Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 30% saying it ranked at the top. Eleven percent named health care, 7% named racism and 5% named law enforcement. NATIONAL ECONOMY Voters were closely divided in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 49% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 51% called them not so good or poor. STAYING AT HOME Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Indiana, 29% said that was because they don’t like politics generally, 20% said they don’t like the candidates and 15% said their vote doesn’t matter. In Indiana, 65% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 84% did not have a college degree. — 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 2,367 voters in Indiana 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 2.4 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCast’s methodology at https://ap.org/votecast. — Online: For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. presidential elections: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020