#USElection| Voters favour Biden on virus, Trump on economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in the U.S. presidential election faced a public health crisis and a wounded economy, but neither candidate emerged as the clear choice to handle both of those issues, according to AP VoteCast.

More voters, both nationwide and in key battlegrounds, said former Vice President Joe Biden would be better able to handle the coronavirus pandemic, the top concern for about 4 in 10 voters.

But President Donald Trump edged out Biden on the question of who would be better to rebuild an economy besieged by nearly 11 million job losses and small businesses staring down a bleak winter.

About 3 in 10 voters nationally ranked the economy as the most pressing issue.

The competing concerns dominated the race between Trump and Biden, which concluded Tuesday with the candidates locked in tight races across the battleground states.

Biden warned that the economy can never fully heal unless the coronavirus is first contained and businesses can fully reopen.

Trump argued that the economy should not be a casualty of the disease and maintained, without evidence, that the nation was “rounding the turn.”

Even as Tuesday night passed without a victor, clear lines were drawn in the electorate. Three-quarters of all voters said they knew all along who they supported.

Trump weighed heavily on their minds, two-thirds said their decision was driven by their opinion of the untraditional president, either for or against.

Voters grouped themselves into two coalitions with little common ground  with Republicans seeing a solid economy where Democrats saw fragility. 

Issues such as racism and climate change were concerns for the majority of Biden voters, but they resonated less with Trump backers.

Trump voters overwhelmingly endorsed their president. About 8 in 10 said their vote was in support of him, not in opposition to Biden, and roughly as many said Trump has changed the way things work in Washington for the better.

Trump continued to draw support from a coalition of white men, white voters without a college degree and those living in small towns and rural communities.

Biden enjoyed more backing from women, college graduates, young people and Black, Hispanic and Asian voters.

A majority of Biden voters, about 6 in 10, said the pandemic was the most important issue, more than twice the share of Trump voters.

AP VoteCast is a nationwide survey of more than 133,000 voters and nonvoters conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

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