https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000177-6046-de2d-a57f-7a6e8c950000This was done using exit polling data in 10 battleground states: AZ, FL, GA, IA, MI, NC, OH, PA, TX, and WI.
•Despite turnout for both state groups being MORE GOP in 2020 than 2016, POTUS lost ground in both groups largely due to a massive swing against POTUS among Indies in both state groups and more GOP ‘leakage’ in “Flipped” states.
•Racially, POTUS suffered his greatest erosion with White voters, particularly White Men in both state groups. However, he made double digit gains with Hispanics in both groups, while his performance among Blacks was virtually the same as 2016.
•POTUS lost ground with almost every age group in both state groupings, but he lost the most with voters 18-29 and 65+ in “Flipped” states. Worse was the double-digit erosion he suffered with White College educated voters across the board.
•Voters who did not vote in ’16 but voted in ’20 accounted for roughly 1-in-6 voters and they broke markedly for Biden, especially in the “Flipped” states. 1-in-10 voters say they decided their vote in the final month of the campaign, and contrary to conventional wisdom, they broke in Biden’s favor in both state groups.
•While Biden’s image was underwater in both state groups, POTUS’s was more so in the “Flipped” states, while he was a net positive in the “Held” states.
•VPOTUS held a marked image advantage over Harris in both state groups where his image was net positive. Harris’s image was worse than Biden’s in both state groups.
•While a majority of voters said they didn’t find either Presidential candidate honest or trustworthy, Biden held a double-digit advantage over POTUS, especially in the “Flipped” states.
•POTUS’s overall job approval was mixed with a majority of voters in the “Flipped” states disapproving while voters in the “Held” states were split down the middle. However, POTUS earned negative marks on handling of Coronavirus (CV) in both groups, particularly in flipped states.
•Conversely, Fauci garnered nearly a 3 to 1 positive job approval on handling of CV overall with Fauci detractors voting overwhelmingly for POTUS while Fauci supporters voted for Biden by wide margins, especially in “Flipped” states.
•Coronavirus (CV) was the top issue in both state groups –more so in “Flipped” states –and Biden carried those voters nearly 3 to 1. The economy ranked second and POTUS crushed Biden with those voters by a 6 to 1 or better margin.•Voters in “Flipped” states somewhat more negative about the economy than in “Held” states, and voters in “Held” states more likely to choose POTUS to handle the economy.
•While majorities of voters in both state groups prioritized stopping the spread of CV over re-opening the economy, the majority was markedly larger in “Flipped” states. And pluralities in both groups picked Biden as best able to handle CV, not surprisingly by a larger margin in the “Flipped” states.
•State groups were split on whether or not CV was under control with a slight majority of “Flipped” state voters saying no and a majority of “Held” saying yes. And voters were highly polarized based on these positions with voters who say it is under control voting overwhelmingly for POTUS and those who say it isn’t voting overwhelmingly for Biden regardless of state group.•Three-quarters of voters in both state groups favored public mask mandates. Not surprisingly those who opposed them voted overwhelmingly for POTUS with those who favored them supporting Biden, particularly those in the “Flipped” states.
•9-in-10 voters in both groups said that SCOTUS was a factor in deciding their vote. Ironically, those who said it was a factor voted for Biden in both state groups while those who said it wasn’t a factor voted for POTUS by large margins.
Very interesting stuff. I think the bolded points are a manifestation of partisanship, rather than a factor driving it. The coronavirus situation is a multifaceted problem, and imho, it was the most salient issue for almost all these voters. Depending on their partisanship, the perspective from which they approached it differed, with Biden-voters emphasizing the virus-aspect and Trump-voters framing the problem as an economic issue. Likewise, I believe that whether someone considered the virus to be under or out of control was driven by, rather than driving, his partisanship. Objectively, the virus was not under any control anywhere in the country, and there were no significant differences in the degree to which it was out of control between, say, OH/PA or IA/WI.
What's clear form this data is that Trump dropped the ball badly on covid and that this was the most important factor that did him in. Evidence for this is, among others, the fact that 65+ was the age groups where he lost the most ground. Seniors not feeling adequately protected, and their health no in competent hands, seems like the obvious reason. Also, picking a fight with Fauci was a horrible mistake during these times.
Going forward, the quite bad numbers for Harris could become relevant some day. She's very similar to Hillary in that everything she does comes across phony and inauthentic; she has no innate likability. Defeating her in 2024 would presumably be easier for the GOP than defeating Biden.