AP VoteCast: A look at voters in Missouri and Mississippi

Hannah Fingerhut, Associated Press

Updated

4:08 pm CDT, Tuesday, March 10, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press is surveying voters in three of the six states holding Democratic presidential contests on Tuesday. Here’s a snapshot of voters in Missouri and Mississippi — who they are and what matters to them — based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

MISSOURI

With the race narrowed to two major candidates, voters’ views about electability are coming into sharp focus. In Missouri, a Republican-leaning state, Democratic primary voters were more confident in former Vice President Joe Biden’s chances of beating President Donald Trump than Sen. Bernie Sanders’.

About 40% think Biden definitely could beat Trump, and another 40% say he probably could.

But just about a quarter say Sanders definitely could defeat Trump in November, with 40% saying he probably could.

Health care, an issue that has intensely divided the field of Democratic candidates this cycle, was named the most important issue facing the country by close to half of primary voters in Missouri. Roughly 2 in 10 considered climate change the top priority, while about 1 in 10 said that of the economy.

Voters divided about evenly over whether Sanders or Biden would be best able to handle health care as president. But on issues related to race, Biden had an advantage over Sanders as the most capable candidate.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi voters wanted a nominee that cares about people like them. Voters there ranked that as as big a priority as selecting a candidate who can beat Trump and exhibit strong leadership. About 9 in 10 primary voters in Mississippi said each of the three qualities was very important in a Democratic nominee.

A majority of Democratic primary voters in Mississippi are African American. About 30% of voters overall described their families as “falling behind” financially, compared with 60% who said they are holding steady and just about 10% “getting ahead.” Health care was named the most important issue by about 40% of voters, but roughly a quarter pointed to the economy.

There was support for government-paid reparations to African Americans for slavery and racial discrimination from roughly two-thirds of voters overall, but there was a significant divide by race. About three-quarters of black voters expressed support, compared with about 4 in 10 white voters.

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AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for The Associated Press and Fox News. The surveys were conducted for seven days, concluding as polls closed.