WASHINGTON — Voters for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump who cast their ballots for Tuesday's presidential election had vastly different motivations — reflecting a broader national divide on the problems the United States faces.
AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 115,000 voters nationwide, found that the fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Vice President Harris' supporters. It was a sign that the Democratic nominee's messaging in her campaign's closing days accusing Trump of being a fascist may have broken through.
By contrast, Trump's supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign. Trump has pledged that tariffs would bring back factory jobs and that greater domestic oil production would flow through the economy and lower prices.
Overall, the presidential candidates' coalitions, based on race, education and community type, appeared largely similar to the 2020 results. Preliminary AP VoteCast findings, however, hinted at some shifts among demographic groups that could be meaningful for the ultimate outcome, including among younger, Black and Hispanic voters.
Voters' conflicting views on key priorities set up a challenge for whoever ultimately wins the election to lead the world's premier economic and military power. Voters saw the qualities of each candidate differently. They were more likely to describe Trump as a strong leader than they were Harris, but she had an edge over him on being seen as having the moral character needed to be president.
Harris and Trump voters couldn't agree on what matters
About two-thirds of Harris voters said the future of democracy was the most important factor for their votes. No other topic — high prices, abortion policy, the future of free speech in the country or the potential to elect the first female president — was as big a factor for her backers.
Trump voters were more motivated by economic issues and immigration. About half said high prices was the biggest issue factoring into their election decisions. About as many said that of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Only about one-third of Trump's voters said democracy was the most important factor for their vote.