VoteCast: Trump dominant influence on NJ voters

TOLEDO, OHIO >> Nearly all of New Jersey’s voters casting midterm election ballots said deciding who controls Congress played a role in their decision, according to a wide-ranging survey of the American electorate.

As voters cast ballots for U.S. Senate and members of Congress in Tuesday’s elections, AP VoteCast found most said that President Donald Trump was a factor in their vote while a majority also said the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Here’s a snapshot of who voted and why in New Jersey, based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, an innovative nationwide survey of about 138,000 voters and nonvoters — including 3,800 voters and 664 nonvoters in the state of New Jersey — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

RACE FOR SENATE In the race for U.S. Senate, Democratic incumbent Bob Menendez split the vote with Republican challenger Bob Hugin. Whites with a college education were almost evenly divided while whites without a college degree preferred Hugin.

Menendez had a sizable advantage among black voters and also was preferred among Hispanic voters.

Voters under 45 were more likely to favor Menendez; those ages 45 and older were split.

CONTROL OF CONGRESS

Tuesday’s elections will determine control of Congress in the final two years of Trump’s first term in office. Almost all of the state’s voters said that was an important factor when they considered their vote, with 7 in 10 saying it was very important.

New Jersey’s suburbs were a key battleground for House control with two open seats vacated by veteran Republicans, and a pair of competitive races in the state’s 3rd and 7th districts.