AP voter poll shows focus on Trump, immigration, health care

WASHINGTON >> Health care and immigration were high on voters’ minds as they cast ballots in the midterm elections, according to a wide-ranging survey of the electorate conducted by The Associated Press.

AP VoteCast also shows a majority of voters considered President Donald Trump a factor in their votes.

Control of the Senate and the House of Representatives is at stake in the first nationwide election of Trump’s presidency. Democrats are hoping to take over one or both chambers to put a check on the president, while Trump is encouraging voters to view the election as a referendum on his leadership.

The VoteCast survey included interviews with more than 115,000 voters nationwide. Here are some early takeaways:

HEALTH CARE AND IMMIGRATION

Health care was at the forefront of many voters’ minds: 27 percent named it as the most important issue facing the country in this year’s midterm elections. Immigration was not far behind, with 23 percent naming it as the most important issue.

Those who voted for a Democratic House candidate were more likely to say health care was their top issue, while those who voted for a Republican were more likely to name immigration.

Others considered the economy (19 percent), gun policy (8 percent) and the environment (7 percent) to be the top issue.

IS IT ALL ABOUT TRUMP?

Nearly two-thirds of voters said Trump was a reason for their vote, while about a third said he was not. Nearly 4 in 10 voters said they cast their ballots to express opposition to the president, while a quarter of voters said they voted to express support for Trump.

WOMEN VOTERS

Women voted considerably more in favor of their congressional Democratic candidate: About 6 in 10 voted for the Democrat, compared with about 4 in 10 voting for the Republican. Men were more narrowly divided in their vote.

ENTHUSIASM

A large majority of voters were enthusiastic heading to the polls, with nearly 9 in 10 reporting that they were extremely or very interested in the midterm election.

NONVOTERS

Nationally, 70 percent of registered voters who chose not to vote in the midterm election were younger than 45. A wide share of those who did not vote — around 8 in 10 — did not have a college degree. About as many nonvoters were Democrats (32 percent) as Republicans (32 percent).

THE ECONOMY

Voters have a positive view of the state of the national economy — about two-thirds said the condition of the economy is excellent or good, compared with a third who said it’s not good or poor.

WRONG DIRECTION

A majority of voters overall said the country is headed in the wrong direction. About 6 in 10 voters said it is headed in the wrong direction, while around 4 in 10 said it’s on the right track.

HEALTH CARE

A quarter of voters said the Affordable Care Act, often called “Obamacare,” should be repealed entirely. About another quarter said parts of the law should be repealed. Around a third of voters said it should be expanded, and about 1 in 10 preferred it be left as it is.

About 6 in 10 voters said it should be the responsibility of the federal government to make sure that all Americans have health care coverage.