AP VoteCast: Indiana Voters Mixed On State Of Nation

UPDATED Nov. 3 at 9:45 p.m.

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 45 percent of Indiana voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 55 percent 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 127,000 voters and nonvoters -- including 2,356 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, Biden was about even with Trump among voters under 45. Trump was preferred over Biden among older voters.

Voters without a college degree were more likely to support Trump over Biden while college-educated voters were split.

Voters in cities were more likely to back Biden over Trump. Trump led Biden among voters in small towns and rural areas. Trump and Biden were about even among suburban voters.

Race For Governor

In the race for governor, Eric Holcomb had an apparent advantage over Woodrow 'Woody' Myers among voters under 45. Older voters were more likely to support Holcomb.

Holcomb had an advantage over 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 support Holcomb but voters in cities were split between Myers and Holcomb.

Facing The Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 19 percent of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 32 percent said it’s somewhat under control. Forty-eight 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-eight percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.

Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 29 percent saying it ranked at the top.

Eleven percent named health care, 7 percent named racism and 4 percent named law enforcement.

National Economy

Voters were slightly negative in their assessments of the nation's economy. Overall, 47 percent described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 53 percent called them not so good or poor.

Staying At Home

Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Indiana, 29 percent said that was because they don't like politics generally, 20 percent said they don't like the candidates and 15 percent said their vote doesn't matter.

In Indiana, 65 percent of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 84 percent 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 2,356 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.

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For AP's complete coverage of the U.S. presidential elections: https://apnews.com/election2020