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AP VoteCast: Missouri Voters Mixed On State Of Nation

Megan Burke
/
KSMU

  Voters in Missouri 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 45% of Missouri voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 54% 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 132,000 voters and nonvoters -- including 3,101 voters and 615 nonvoters in Missouri -- conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

TRUMP VS BIDEN

In the race for president, Biden was about even with Trump among voters under 45 while Trump led Biden among older voters.

Trump led among voters without a college degree but Biden was about even with Trump among college-educated voters.

Biden had an edge among suburban voters. Voters in cities were more likely to prefer Biden over Trump. Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to back Trump over Biden.

RACE FOR GOVERNOR

In the race for governor, Nicole Galloway was roughly even with Mike Parson among voters under 45 but Parson was preferred among older voters.

Voters without a college degree were more likely to prefer Parson over Galloway but college-educated voters were divided.

Parson was preferred among voters in small towns and rural areas. Voters in cities were more likely to back Galloway. Galloway and Parson were about tied among 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, 20% 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 Missouri. Thirty-six 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.

Nine percent named health care, 6% named racism and 6% 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 50% called them not so good or poor.

STAYING AT HOME

Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Missouri, 24% said that was because they don't like politics generally, 18% said their vote doesn't matter and 16% said they don't like the candidates.

In Missouri, 68% 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 3,101 voters in Missouri 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 2.2 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCast's methodology at https://ap.org/votecast.

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Online:

For AP's complete coverage of the U.S. presidential elections: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020

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