A majority of voters casting midterm election ballots in Delaware said the country is headed in the wrong direction, 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 that 37 percent of Delaware voters said the country is on the right track, compared with 62 percent who said the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Here’s a snapshot of who voted and why in Delaware, based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, an innovative nationwide survey of about 139,000 voters and nonvoters – including 786 voters and 224 nonvoters in the state of Delaware – conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
RACE FOR SENATE
In the race for Senate, Democrat Tom Carper had a sizable advantage over Republican Robert Arlett among voters under 45; likewise, those ages 45 and older leaned toward Carper.
Voters with a college education were more likely to favor Carper. Likewise, voters without a college degree leaned toward Carper.
TOP ISSUE: HEALTH CARE
Health care was at the forefront of voters’ minds: 30 percent named it as the most important issue facing the nation in this year’s midterm elections. Others considered immigration (19 percent), the economy (18 percent), gun policy (9 percent) and foreign policy (6 percent) to be the top issue.
STATE OF THE ECONOMY
Views of economic conditions in the country are mixed – 46 percent of voters said the nation’s economy is not good, compared with 54 percent who said it’s good.
TRUMP FACTOR
For 35 percent of Delaware voters, President Donald Trump was not a factor they considered while casting their votes. By comparison, 20 percent said a reason for their vote was to express support for Trump, and 44 percent said they voted to express opposition to Trump.
A majority of voters in Delaware had negative views of Trump: 61 percent said they disapprove of how he is handling his job as president, while 39 percent said they approve of Trump.
CONTROL OF CONGRESS
Tuesday’s elections will determine control of Congress in the final two years of Trump’s first term in office, and 69 percent of Delaware voters said which party will hold control was very important as they considered their vote. Another 23 percent said it was somewhat important.
