AP VoteCast: Mississippi voters mixed on state of nation

Voters in Mississippi 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 46% of Mississippi voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 53% 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 1,199 voters and 275 nonvoters in Mississippi -- conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

FACING THE PANDEMIC

The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 22% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 32% said it’s somewhat under control. Forty-five 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 Mississippi. Thirty-three percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.

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

Eleven percent named racism, 11% named health care and 4% named abortion.

NATIONAL ECONOMY

Voters were closely divided in their assessments of the nation's economy. Overall, 48% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 52% called them not so good or poor.

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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 1,199 voters in Mississippi 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 3.6 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