Economic Worries, Call for Change: What Led Trump's Comeback to The White House

WASHINGTON: A disaffected electorate wanted former President Donald Trump to return to White House, a blatant rejection of Vice President Kamala Harris and her nearly four years with President Joe Biden .

Republican’s victory came from a public so put off by America’s trajectory that y welcomed his brash and disruptive approach. About 3 in 10 voters said y wanted total upheaval in how country is run, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Even if y weren’t looking for something that dramatic, more than half of voters overall said y wanted to see substantial change.

Both nationwide and in key battleground states, Republican won over voters who were alarmed about ecomy and prioritized more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws. Those issues largely overshowed many voters’ focus on future of democracy and abortion protections — key priorities for Harris’ voters, but t eugh to turn election in her favour.

Trump’s victory, however, wasn’t a total mandate. Even as Trump prevailed in electoral college, re were concerns about how he could wield his power. Most voters said y were very or somewhat concerned that electing Trump would bring U.S. closer to being an authoritarian country, where a single leer has unchecked power. Still, more than 1 in 10 of those voters backed him.

Voters Gave Trump Edge On ir Top Concern: Ecomy

Anxiety about inflation was high nationally, and voters broly believed that Trump would be better equipped than Harris to handle ecomy and jobs. key swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin largely mirrored mood of nation.

share of voters who said ir family’s financial situation was “falling behind” rose to about 3 in 10, up from roughly 2 in 10 in last presidential election. Many voters were still reeling from inflation that spiked to a four-dece high in June 2022. About 9 in 10 voters were very or somewhat concerned about cost of groceries, and about 8 in 10 were concerned about ir health care costs, ir housing costs or cost of gas.

Trump Eroded Democrats’ Tritional vant Among Key Groups

Trump picked up a small but significant share of younger voters, Black voters and Hispanic voters, many of whom were feeling down about ecomy. Majorities of younger Black voters and Lati voters said ecomy is t working well.

ecomy carried more prominence than in 2020 election, including for se groups. Four years ago, COVID-19 and racism were important issues for Black and Lati voters. But this time, y were more focused on ecomy, and Trump mand to make inros with both groups even as majority stayed with Harris.

Among voters under 30, slightly less than half went for Trump, an improvement from his 2020 performance. About three-quarters of young voters said country was heed in wrong direction, and roughly one-third said y wanted complete and total upheaval to how country is run.

re was also a divide between young men and women on which candidate y backed. About 6 in 10 women between 18 to 29 voted for Harris, and more than half of men in that group backed Trump.

Tough Immigration Policies Were More Popular, Particularly In Swing States

Voters were more likely to embrace hardline immigration policies than y were four years ago, which aligned with Trump’s tough approach.

About 4 in 10 voters said that immigrants living in U.S. illegally should be deported to country y came from, up from about 3 in 10 in 2020. And while most voters said that immigrants living in U.S. illegally should be offered a chance to apply for legal status, that was down from 2020.

Trump has seized on an increase in illegal crossings at U.S. border with Mexico as a driver of crime and falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Ohio of eating dogs and cats. That position may have echoed in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – three states far from sourn border where about 8 in 10 Trump voters said y supported deportation over a chance to apply for legal status.

A More Isolationist Electorate

Trump’s return to White House will likely challenge established global order, as he has questioned commitment to defend fellow NATO countries and called for large tariff hikes on allies as well as competitors. Voters were more likely than in 2020 to opt many of Trump’s isolationist stances. About 4 in 10 voters wanted U.S. to take a “less active role” in solving world’s problems, up from about 3 in 10 in 2020.

Most of Trump’s supporters opposed continuing aid to Ukraine in war against Russia, undoing a Biden ministration policy that h strengned and expanded NATO. But re were limits to ir isolationist stance: A majority of Trump voters separately favored continuing aiding Israel in its war against Hamas and Hezbollah.

Trump Is t A Unifier, But Some Voters Didn’t See His Flaws As Dealbreakers

Some of Trump’s voters ackwledged his flaws even as y chose to send him back to Washington.

Nearly half of voters said y were “very concerned” that ar Trump presidency would bring U.S. closer to authoritarianism. Roughly 1 in 10 in this group voted for him anyway. About 6 in 10 voters said he is t honest and trustworthy, but about 2 in 10 in this group backed him. A majority of voters said he does t have moral character to be president, and about 1 in 10 of those voters supported him.

For all his promises, Trump will likely find it challenging to endow nation as a whole with a new sense of unity and optimism. Asked if he would bring positive change, voters were about evenly split.