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AP VoteCast: Michigan voters sour on state of nation | News, Sports, Jobs
Most voters casting ballots in Michigan’s presidential and U.S. Senate election said the country is on the wrong track, according to an expansive AP survey of the American electorate.
As voters on Tuesday finished deciding between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden in a year turned upside down by a global pandemic and economic downturn, AP VoteCast found that 2 in 5 of Michigan voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 3 in 5 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 3,566 voters and 952 nonvoters in Michigan — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
Biden seized on Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, calling him “reckless” during stops in Michigan, one of the hardest hit states during early stages of the pandemic. More than 7,500 have died from the virus across the state.
Overall, about 2 in 10 voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 3 in 10 said it’s somewhat under control. Roughly half think the coronavirus is not at all under control in this country.
“We’re not doing as well as we could have been, with all the resources this country has. So yeah, that definitely impacted my vote,” said Georgia Richardson-Smaller of Ann Arbor, a 19-year-old student who voted for Biden.
Trump warned that Biden would keep Michigan “locked up” during the coronavirus pandemic. Early in the pandemic, he cheered on protesters who opposed Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s virus restrictions, tweeting “Liberate Michigan!”
Whitmer has since lifted many restrictions. Biden has said he would only shut down the country if that is what government scientists advise.
“Everybody should continue to wear a mask and play it safe, but I think that we should also move forward with the world,” said Cynthia Baird, 63, of Howell, who voted for Trump.
Michigan voters were more negative than positive in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, about 2 in 5 described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, while nearly 3 in 5 called them not so good or poor.
Biden never missed a chance to remind Michigan’s voters that as vice president he played a key role in the Obama administration’s rescue of the U.S. auto industry — a significant issue in a state where car makers provide 120,000 manufacturing jobs.
Trump hung his prospects on promises that his trade policies would make Michigan stronger. He also often pointed out that Biden had backed trade deals that helped China and that many blue-collar workers blame those deals for the long-term loss of manufacturing jobs.
The coronavirus pandemic was the top issue for 2 in 5 voters in Michigan. About a quarter cited the economy while 1 in 10 said it was health care.
Trump has handled all of the big issues well, said Adam Baker, 59, of West Bloomfield, who works in real estate.
“He exceeded every expectation,” said Baker, who voted for the president. “The economy. National security. The rule of law. Our allies, his stance on Israel and a return to normalcy.”
Biden fought hard to try to take back Michigan after Trump four years ago became the first Republican to carry the state in 28 years.
Trump won Michigan by just under 11,000 votes in 2016 and was counting on a huge turnout in rural and small-town places where he also dominated four years ago.
Biden’s campaign worked to solidify its support among Black voters by reaching out to pastors, women and political activists in the Black community.
Biden’s strategy also was built around winning big in the state’s suburbs, especially among women, who have been moving more toward Democrats. He also sought to make inroads with older voters who disapproved of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the state’s first competitive Senate contest in 20 years, Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, a first-term incumbent, was up against Republican challenger John James, a business executive and combat veteran.
Health care was a key issue in the race that will help determine which party takes the Senate majority, now held by the GOP.
Peters backed the Obama-era health care overhaul when he was in the House while James supports the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
Both parties poured millions into the race. James, who is Black, sought to appeal to Black voters disillusioned with Democrats. Former President Barack Obama appeared in ad for Peters, crediting the Democrat for working to save auto industry and protect the Great Lakes.
AP VoteCast is 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 3,566 voters in Michigan 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 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCast’s methodology at https://ap.org/votecast.
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