WASHINGTON — Voters in Virginia’s Democratic primary ranked health care as the most important issue facing the country, well above climate change, the economy, race relations, foreign policy and many other social issues.
About a third named health care, an issue that has intensely divided the field of Democratic candidates. Roughly 2 in 10 each had climate change and the economy on their minds, according to a wide-ranging AP VoteCast survey of the Democratic primary electorate in Virginia.
The Associated Press declared Joe Biden the winner just after the polls closed in Virginia, basing the call on data from VoteCast.
Here’s a snapshot of Democratic voters in Virginia — who they are and how they voted — based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a survey of 2,604 voters, conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
DO THEY WANT A BIG CHANGE?
Voters in Virginia’s Democratic primary were closely divided over whether they want a candidate who would bring fundamental change to Washington or one who would restore the political system to how it was before Donald Trump was elected in 2016.
About 6 in 10 voters said they preferred a candidate who will pursue practical, centrist policies to one pursuing bold liberal policies.
WHAT ELSE VOTERS WANT
Roughly 8 in 10 said it was very important that a nominee can beat Trump and is a strong leader.
About 7 in 10 said it was very important that a candidate cares about people like them, while about 6 in 10 said the same of one who has the best policy ideas.
Having “the right experience” and being willing to work across the aisle were considered very significant for a Democratic nominee by about 6 in 10 voters.
DIVIDED BY AGE
As in the primary contests so far, young voters in Virginia were behind Bernie Sanders. About half of those under 30 supported the Vermont senator. But Biden won about two-thirds of voters ages 45 and older, the majority of voters in the state.
DIVIDED BY RACE
Black voters were far more likely to support Biden than any other candidate. Similar shares of Latino voters backed Sanders and Biden. Among white voters, about half supported Biden, while about 2 in 10 went for Sanders and about 1 in 10 each supported Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren.
LARGELY UNIFIED AGAINST TRUMP
A wide majority say they will definitely vote for the Democratic candidate against Trump in the general election. Still, about a quarter say their decision will depend on which Democrat is on the ballot in November.
PRIMARY PROCESS SKEPTICISM
Voters are skeptical that the Democratic Party’s nomination process is fair. Just about 2 in 10 say they are very confident that the process for selecting a presidential nominee is fair. Roughly a third have little to no confidence, while nearly half say they are somewhat confident.
DEBATING HEALTH CARE
The campaign to date has featured a contentious debate among candidates over the best way to tackle health care, an issue seen as the most important facing the country by roughly a third of voters.
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